


25 Days of Ralvez

by spencer_reids_hands



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Christmas, Fluff, M/M, No Angst, okay minimal angst, oneshots, probably no smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:34:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 66,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27831586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spencer_reids_hands/pseuds/spencer_reids_hands
Summary: A christmas one shot for each day of December leading to the 25th all about spencer reid and luke alvez.
Relationships: Luke Alvez/Spencer Reid
Comments: 86
Kudos: 69





	1. Mistletoe

"Garcia, is all this really necessary?" Emily asked, ducking under tinsel that Penelope had hung a bit too low on the doorframe. 

"Absolutely!" She shouted. "I have been waiting to decorate since Halloween but I respectfully waited until today, December 1! I will not hide all my decorations in the bat cave. The whole office deserves to feel cheery."

Emily rolled her eyes but laughed, fixing the tinsel before going to the bullpen, Penelope following close behind. She had spent the half of the morning decorating the office with all things Christmas. Red and green lights covered doorframes and their kitchen was covered head to toe in silver and gold tinsel. Mistletoe was hidden in every corner. 

"Good morning, everyone," Emily spoke to us all, everyone conversing over donuts Spencer had brought in that morning. "I hope you all had a good weekend. As you can tell it is officially December which means two things; One, cases are gonna pick up as we get closer to the holiday; Two, Penelope is in full decoration mode. I have accepted it but please do not get the team in trouble with HR just because you and a friend end up under the mistletoe. Stay vigilant from the kissing plant." She winked and we laughed, going back to doughnuts. 

"You know the tradition of kissing underneath mistletoe is a relatively new practice, only becoming popularized between 1720 and 1784." Spencer said, licking chocolate frosting off his thumb. 

"What was it used for before then?" I asked, and he looked up at me surprised. He quickly swallowed his bite of chocolate and sprinkles doughnut before speaking again. 

"Well, mistletoe goes back to Norse mythology, stating that the goddess Figg lost her son to an arrow made of the plant and then declared it a symbol of love and peace. She said anyone who passed by it would be kissed by the mistletoe which is likely why the tradition morphed into others kissing underneath. And you know it's not actually a harmless plant like many assume, it's really a parasite that steals water and nutrients from trees in the wild, before humans take it so they can kiss during the holidays."

JJ sipped her coffee and I watched the others instinctively reach for their own cups, eyeing the mistletoe Penelope had hung in the doorframe of the kitchen. Spencer seemed to realize that the others didn't find this as interesting as he did. 

"Is it harmful to humans too?" I asked, trying to slave off the awkwardness he was feeling. Even if I didn't do it to try and make him more comfortable, I was interested. 

"It's never been known to kill humans, but it can be used as a semi-effective poison," He turned to face me, and I noticed the others gain interest in their donuts and case files. "It can cause drowsiness, blurred vision, nausea and vomiting, and even seizures in some cases. But, conversely, it's been used as a cancer treatment throughout the UK and Europe for years now, but it's not FDA approved in the states. Oh! And it is poisonous to dogs so if you have any at home make sure to keep it away from Roxy."

I grinned. Like he didn't know what my house looked like. He saw me smile and looked down at his cup, likely to hide his own, when he frowned. I glanced over and saw his cup was empty. 

"Need a refill?" I asked and he nodded. 

"I'll keep you company. Anyone else need more coffee?"

"Me!" Tara chimed in, handing over her cup. "You know how I like it." She winked and I laughed. I grabbed her cup and let Spencer lead the way to the kitchen, letting him duck under the parasite before following him, feeling Penelope's prying eyes checking to make sure everyone followed the rules of mistletoe. 

Spencer dumped the bit of burnt coffee that sat at the bottom of the pot, rinsing it out and adding bland grounds to the filter and setting it up for a whole pot. He sat on the kitchen counter where the team couldn't see him and I walked closer, setting Tara and I's cups down behind him. 

"So, is there bad luck when you don't kiss under mistletoe?"

"Only if you ask and I refuse. While we're under the mistletoe." He added, pointing out the fact that we had moved away from the plant.

I looked around and found paper and pen. I scribbled the word 'mistletoe' on his and held it above his head. He was even taller than me when he sat on the counter. "Well, now, we wouldn't want to break the rules would we?"

He rolled his eyes at me but pressed a very quick kiss to my lips before backing up. "That's all you get, we're at work. And I don't want to break those rules either."

I frowned, but pulled back, rubbing my thumb on his thigh before pouring coffee in everyone's cups. Spencer watched me intently as I poured Tara's about an inch to the top, filling the rest with skim milk. I poured in his to the brim, but enough space to stir in heaping amounts of sugar into his mug. He laughed when I comically poured in even more than he needed. 

"Tease me all you want but the extra sugar will just make it even sweeter. It means you love me." He smiled, pressing a kiss to my cheek before burning his tongue on the hot coffee, scrunching his nose in pain. 

"Cuidado, amorcito." I said, but he waved me off, pouring coffee into my cup, adding honey in as a sweetener and cinnamon in for flavor. I thanked him and helped him off the counter, leading him out of the kitchen.

"Yes!" Penelope's voice rang out through the bullpen. I heard her kitten heels tapping against the floor as she rushed down towards us, gathering everyone's attention. "Everyone, we have our first victims!" 

I looked up, realizing the mistletoe was over us and we had gone through the door frame together this time rather than letting him step through before me.

"I think you know what that means, genius." JJ laughed.

"Can't break the rules, you two!" Matt added. 

"We also can't break office rules," Luke argued, looking to Emily.

"Hey, don't look at me! Penelope runs this show and I am willing to turn a blind eye every once in a while."

I looked over at Spencer and he gave me a slight nod before I gave him a kiss on the cheek, pulling away quickly. 

"Boo! You guys are so lame! Get into the Christmas spirit. A little peck never hurt anybody." Penelope said. 

"Well that's not actually true, plenty of STIs can be spread through mouth to mouth contact as well as Mono which is commonly known as the kissing disease."

"O M G, Luke shut him up with a kiss." Penelope teased Spencer, all in good fun, hopefully. "It would shut me up too!"

I groaned, but Spencer pulled me in for what I anticipated would be the quickest kiss in our relationship, second only to the one in the kitchen five minutes prior. Instead he put his hands on my face and kissed me more. It was still a short kiss, lasting no more than five seconds and really just a peck, no tongue or anything of the sort, but it was enough to startle the team into silence, and me, when he pulled back.

"Okay, that was not what I was expecting," Emily said after. "If anyone asks I didn't see anything, because that is too much paperwork." She turned back to her office.

"Okay, boy wonder," Tara laughed. "how long have you been wanting to do that."

"For about five minutes, since when I kissed him in the kitchen." He said, effectively outing us. Not that I cared, we didn't particularly work to hide the relationship, and had agreed a while ago that if the team knew then so be it, as long as we remained professional at work. 

I pulled him in for another kiss, still quick as the last, not wanting to get worked up at work. "Let's get mistletoe for the house."

"Did you not listen to me earlier, it's poisonous to dogs!"

We walked back to our desks, ignoring the stares from the team. "Of course I listened, but mistletoe happens to be one of my new favorite things and I need more excuses to kiss you."

"Luke we've been dating for a year and we live together. You don't need an excuse anymore."

Now Penelope piped up, still in shock that we did what she asked of us. "Wait, you live together?"

I laughed and shrugged, moving back to my computer screen to see where I could buy mistletoe.


	2. Christmas in the ER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer Reid ends up in the ER on Christmas Eve alone and has a bed near a talkative man who wants to know why he's there all alone, despite the fact that Spencer is very certain the man is alone too.

Christmas wasn't something I particularly liked or disliked. Office Christmas parties were fun, drinking spiked hot cocoa and eating sugar cookies Penelope spent all night decorating. The look on Henry and Michael's faces when they opened their presents I scoured through stores for to keep me in the spot as the World's Best Godfather/Uncle was amazing. I didn't even mind the cheesy shows and movies that played instead of my usual shows. The _Doctor Who_ Christmas specials were pretty good, actually. I liked the feeling that builds up to Christmas, I just didn't like being alone on Christmas. 

I understood why, everyone else had family to visit and be with. Garcia and her stepbrothers, JJ with Will and the kids, Hotch with Jack, Morgan with his sisters and mom, Rossi with Joy, and Emily with her mom, or at least a night in with Sergio. I had Mom, but she was across the country and holidays weren't a good time to see her anyway. She had 11% more episodes in December than any other month. But the one time of December I was used to spending with my chosen family, the team, was Christmas Eve. That was when we'd have the Christmas party, exchange gifts and Secret Santa, even when we already knew who had gotten us. 

I knew it would be different this year when we were called out to a case on the 22nd. It was hard, as they all are, but shorter than most. We were back on the plane on Christmas Eve, JJ with a concussion, Rossi with a sprained ankle, and I had a gunshot wound to the bicep. As soon as we arrested the unsub we were on the jet, not stopping to get checked out. I noticed Rossi walking with a limp and made him a splint, telling him to go to the doctors. I saw JJ holding her head in pain and set her up with a blanket and some over the counter meds for the headache and told her to get checked sooner rather than later. I had wrapped my arm in the bathroom immediately after getting shot, making a decision to keep the bullet in to lessen blood loss until I could get to the doctor, but it was difficult and I worried I wouldn't be able to wait until we landed, despite it only being a forty minute flight. 

"Spencer, are you okay?" Emily asked, reaching out to touch my arm but I shrugged away.

"Yeah," I lied. "why wouldn't I be?" There was only ten minutes left of the flight and I drove to work before we left. The nearest ER was only seven minutes away with no traffic, and there should be minimal traffic on Christmas Eve.

"You're pale." She said. "Paler than usual. And you're sweaty." Her eyes swept over me and I subconsciously shifted away. We both noticed. "You're bleeding, Spencer!" She said finally, pointing to a spot that was slowly getting bigger through my cardigan. Before I could react she pulled my sweater off and unbuttoned my shirt, pulling out my arm while I winced. 

"What happened?" Hotchner demanded, up on his feet when he heard Emily.

"It's non-lethal!" I defended myself, pulling my shirt back up so I wasn't exposed to the team. "It was just a stray bullet. I'll get it taken out when we land and I can get to the ER."

"Jesus Christ," Morgan rubbed his eyes. "you're ridiculous."

"Is there a bullet in your arm right now, Reid?" Rossi asked, and I nodded.

"Stop worrying. I told you it's non-lethal and I've had worse. Does no one remember when I had to walk on crutches for months?"

"I'm going to chalk this up to you being in shock, Reid, but we are talking about this after the holidays." Hotchner demanded. I nodded again. "And you aren't driving yourself to the hospital, I'll do it."

I knew better than to argue, but I wanted Hotch to get some rest before Christmas morning so he could be there for Jack. I wandered over to JJ, who was asleep. I had a conversation with her while she was asleep, her mumbling about her dream while I pretended she was coherent. I _would_ ask her to bring me, but her concussion could wait to get checked out but I couldn't wait much longer to remove the bullet. She would want to go home and see Will and the kids, probably not even bothering to get checked out until the 26th, to avoid 'ruining Christmas.' 

After a reasonable amount of time for a conversation passed I got up and walked back to my spot on the plane where Hotch sat across from me. 

"JJ said she would bring me, since she needs to get checked out too. I didn't want to inconvenience you, I know you want to get back home to Jack."

He didn't say anything, but gave me a look I couldn't quite decipher. It was somewhere between worry and gratitude. But he nodded and motioned for me to sit down, which I did, as the plane began its descent. 

___

I had snuck past Hotch and the rest of the team to my car, knowing they would realize that everyone remained but I was gone, meaning I had gone out myself to the hospital. It only took me five minutes to get there, only hitting green lights with a bit of speeding due to the excess bleeding. 

When I arrived to the ER I gave them my credentials and explained what had happened. I told them I shouldn't be a priority, the bullet was preventing heavy bleeding and it hadn't hit any vital organs or arteries, but they told me they couldn't let me sit with a bullet in my arm and immediately pulled me away from the front desk to treat me. It was a quick process, painful but nothing I hadn't been through before. I denied narcotics for the pain, even when they pushed them, and instead settled for extra strength Tylenol. 

Now I laid in the stiff ER bed I was sure was filled with germs because my nurse told me he couldn't discharge me yet until all my tests came back negative for infections. The lights above my bed flickered and I thought if I squinted my eyes I could pretend they were flashing Christmas lights. 

"What's got you here on Christmas Eve?" A deep voice came from the other side of the curtain. I reached forwards with my good arm and pulled the curtain back, revealing a handsome Latino man, tan skin and black hair. He was laying back on a bed with his left foot elevated, only wearing one shoe. It seemed like his foot was broken based on the type of cast, likely from dropping something heavy on it. It didn't look like anyone was with him so I didn't know how he got to the ER.

"I got shot." I said bluntly, and the grin fell off his face. I fought a smile when I saw that.

"Jesus Christ," He looked alarmed. "all I did was drop a stupid box on my foot, hoping I could make conversation with the cute guy in the ER just to hear he was fucking shot? Does this happen often and that's why you're calm or are you in shock?"

"More often than I'd like, but not often enough for me to claim that." I stifled a laugh at the handsome man next to me. "I'm not in shock though either, it's been a couple of hours and it was a minor wound, easier to deal with than my last two."

He looked at me with wide eyes like he was worried being in my presence would get him shot as well. "Well, are you gonna explain or are you gonna make me beg?"

"I'm a federal agent." I explained, pulling out my badge for him to confirm. "I'm Spencer Reid, you are?"

"Luke Alvez." He said, reaching his hand out to shake when I tensed a bit. 

"Forgive me, I don't shake hands, it's a bit of a germ thing." I said, and he pulled his hand back, shrugging like it was no problem. I smiled gratefully.

"So you wanna tell me your stories and I can tell you my lackluster story about a man fighting with a box that ends in a tragic injury?" He asked, gesturing towards his foot. I laughed and nodded, despite the pain in my arm. He laughed too, despite the likely pain in his foot. 

I pulled up my pants a bit, revealing a scar on my knee. "This was my first, a gunshot to the knee, in 2010, during a case I had while protecting a victim."

"Oh, a knight in shining armor, I see?" He teased, and I blushed, but laughed off the comment. 

"And my second one was to the neck," I said, moving my hair out of the way to show the scar. "which had an easier recovery than the knee shot, despite what most would think. This one happened during a shootout when I tried to push another agent out of the way, and I got in the line of fire."

"So you are a knight in shining armor!" He exclaimed. "Mr. Badass over here, wanna tell me why you're all alone on Christmas Eve?"

"It's Doctor Badass, actually. And you know, I just really like the ambiance of dull Christmas music playing while a nurse wearing a Santa Claus hat pulls a bullet out of my arm. Having someone here with me really dampens the Christmas spirit." I tried for a joke instead of telling him that my coworkers had lives and I didn't have anyone else so I drove myself to the ER with a bullet imbedded in my flesh.

It seemed to work though, as he laughed for a solid minute before speaking. "My bad, Doctor Badass, but I thought you were an FBI agent?"

"I am, I'm not a medical doctor, so don't ask me to look at your foot-though I can tell you'll need to be on crutches for approximately six weeks. But the pain will go away much before then. I have PhDs in mathematics, chemistry, and engineering."

"So I get to spend my night with a genius? Any chance you're single?" He asked, and I blushed. 

"Are you?" I asked boldly. 

"Very. In case you didn't notice, you aren't the only one at the ER alone on Christmas Eve."

"Good." I said, my brain moving on quickly. "I'll be back." I got up quicker than my lack of blood would've liked, but made my way to the vending machine. I checked my watch and saw it was quarter past 11. I patted my pockets and was glad to find my wallet, still containing enough cash. I got enough for a small feast, juggling the food in my arms before making my way back to our beds. When I came back he gave me an odd look. 

"Well, I figured since we were spending Christmas together, I should get something for you." I smiled, and he grinned. 

"Got any cashews in there?" He asked, putting his hand out for incoming treats. 

I put the snacks on the table next to my bed with wheels moving it in between us for easy access. "This is a trail mix that has some cashews in it, but I hate to tell you this isn't a five star restaurant."

He smiled nonetheless. "Trail mix is a favorite of mine." He said, popping a bit of everything in his mouth at once. He had pretty lips. "So are you gonna tell me why you're really alone tonight?"

"Tell me how you broke your foot and maybe I will." I deflected, and he noticed, but told a long story about his dog named Roxy, who he swore was a sweetheart, who got a little too excited when he was decorating his new apartment for Christmas and bumped into him, making him drop a box filled with heavy decorations. 

"Really, I was in the army and the injury that lands me in the hospital was because of my lovey dog! Figures. So I told you how I broke my foot and why I'm alone, because of an overzealous dog and I'm new in town. Tell me your story." He laughed and I did too, before sobering the mood with my next comment. 

"I, uh, well, we just got back from a case and it's Christmas Eve, they all have family, so I told them I'd get a ride from my teammate JJ, who I told I'd get a ride from my supervisor, Hotchner, and then I drove myself. I didn't want to inconvenience them, and I don't have anyone besides my team so, I'm alone."

He furrowed his brow, but before he could say anything two nurses came over, closing the curtain between us and began to discharge me. From what I could hear, Luke was being discharged as well. I was glad to leave the hospital, even though I knew I would be on desk duty for weeks and get lectured by Hotch about being reckless. But I was still disappointed to leave Luke. I lingered by the doors until I saw Luke crutch over to me.

"You were right, six weeks on these damn things. I don't know how I'm gonna survive." He joked.

"How're you getting home?" I asked.

"Uber. I just called for one."

"Cancel it, I'll give you a ride home." He looked like he was gonna argue but I didn't let him. "Please, it's the least I can do. I haven't spent a Christmas, or even part of one, with somebody in a long time."

He agreed, and I guided him to the car, helping him put the crutches in the back after I seated him in the passenger.

"Can I ask for another favor?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"Can we look at Christmas lights? I know it's late, but it seems I won't be driving for a while and this is something I normally do with family."

"Yeah, sure!" I said enthusiastically. "Do you wanna stop at your place and get Roxy? I'd love to meet the dog who's so happy she broke bones." I could feel him staring at me before nodding vigorously. I took a left and found his place was fairly close to the ER, meaning it was also close to Quantico. He sent me inside with his sweater so his dog could get his scent, even after I told him dogs don't tend to like me. Roxy didn't seem to mind, I think she was just excited to get out of the house and meet a new friend. 

We drove around every suburb and neighborhood that was still brightly lit, slowing down in front of the brightest displays to sit in awe over them. Roxy laid comfortably in the back, perking her head up once in a while before going back down. While we were stopped in front of a particularly festive display I found that I wasn't looking at the lights so much as the man in the seat next to me. Red lights lit up his face, spots of green coming in too. I got my first good look at him and realized how handsome he was. Curly black hair and big brown eyes adorned his face and he had a strong jaw, with nice eyebrows to shape his face.

He turned back to me and I shifted my eyes away from him over to the lights before he noticed. 

"What time is it?" He asked quietly. 

I checked my watch and my eyes widened. "Nearly 3:30 am."

"Jesus." He took a breath. "We should probably head back."

I found myself disappointed, but nodded nonetheless. We drove in silence, the radio quietly strumming out Christmas music while my passenger hummed along. I wondered if it would be weird to ask for his number, but figured I'd save us both the awkwardness of him having to turn me down. He's new in town with a broken foot, I was sure the last thing he wanted was an FBI agent who was never home who had just gotten himself shot for the third time. Especially one as socially inept as myself. 

"Will you help me in?" Luke asked when I parked in front of his apartment building. Lucky for him he lived on the second floor and there was an elevator. "I'm just worried about working the crutches and Roxy."

"Oh, yeah! Of course, sorry let me grab your crutches and Roxy from the back." He nodded, unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the door but making no move to get up. I helped him up and onto his crutches when I made my way to that side of the car. He got to his feet and I held Roxy's leash tight, fearing she may grow overzealous once more and we'd both have broken feet. We walked in silence to his home, and Roxy sat patiently in the elevator as we got to his apartment, B6.

"You coming in?" He asked brazenly. I froze for half a second before nodding. He shifted his hips away from me. "Key is in my back pocket." I blushed and wasn't sure if he actually wanted me to grab the key, but he didn't move after two seconds so I reached into the pocket and grabbed the key, letting us both into his place. 

He wasn't lying about the new apartment only being partially decorated. It looked like he had just moved in, there was minimal furniture and the seasonal decorations were scattered unceremoniously, not including the box that lied on the floor, the culprit of a broken foot. I kicked it out of the way, and saw how it could be heavy enough to break bone if it was hit at the right angle. 

"Sorry I know this is weird," Luke suddenly spoke up, hopping over to lean against the wall of what I assumed led into his kitchen. "I just, I enjoyed your company a lot tonight. Is it weird if I ask for your number?"

"Really?" I asked without thinking. 

"I'm sorry, are you straight?" He asked, not seeming please with my response. 

"Oh, no! God no, I just can't believe _you_ want _my_ number!"

He laughed and motioned for me to come closer. I did as he instructed until we were face to face and I noticed he straightened, trying to be taller than me. I still stood at an inch taller than him. 

"Put your number in my phone." He demanded. 

"Um, where is it?"

"Same place as my keys were."

I smiled and snaked my good arm around his waist, reaching in his pocket for his phone. I put it to his finger for a fingerprint ID before putting my number in his phone as Doctor Badass. 

"Tell me, Spencer Reid, resident genius, what do you know about mistletoe?"

"It's a parasite, and it has some conflicting abilities being poisonous to humans, dogs, and cats, while also being used on cancer patients in the UK and Europe."

"So smart," He praised in a way that would feel like mocking if it was anyone else. "What about the kissing? Is it bad luck to say no to a kiss?"

"It actually is! When the tradition began in the 1700s it was told to be bad luck if someone asked for a kiss under the mistletoe and you rejected them."

He smiled and pointed up, I followed his motions to see he was pointing to a mistletoe plant, then wiggling his eyebrows at me. I tried to fight a smile hopelessly, and leaned forwards, pressing a soft and chaste kiss to his lips. 

"I'd go further," I explained, "but not only is it quarter to four, you have a broken foot and I have a gunshot wound and blood loss. I don't think that'd make for a great time for either of us."

Luke sighed but agreed. "Listen, I know I just met you literally six hours ago but it is late, how about you crash here for the night? I've got a spare bedroom with freshly washed sheets and whenever you wake up in the morning you're free to slip out no worries. I just don't want you driving this late when you've been experiencing blood loss and have barely eaten anything worthwhile in who knows how long."

I just nodded, trailing away from him and hearing him follow. "I'm sure you could use some help too, learning to live with the crutches. It's not the most fun thing in the world. I had to use mine for months before graduating to a cane."

He looked confused for a moment before seeming to remember the gunshot to the knee. 

We conversed for another twenty minutes before his yawns grew closer apart than his blinks, and I brought him to his bed, tucking him in for the night.

"Guess what?" He said as I leaned over him, fixing his blanket. 

"Hm?"

He pulled his arm out of the blanket and put it above us, holding a mistletoe plant. "Kiss me goodnight?"

I smiled and leaned in. "Only because it's Christmas."


	3. Ugly Sweater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke loves ugly Christmas sweaters. Spencer says they ruin his aesthetic. They 'argue' and one comes out victorious.

"I like your sweaters." Luke said absentmindedly, toying with my sleeve. "Your cardigans too. And your sweater vests. They make you look soft."

"Thank you?" I asked, a light blush spread across my cheeks and burnt my ears. 

"It's a good thing." He confirmed, pulling me closer to him while I maneuvered my lanky body to fit on his lap. _Star Wars_ played on in the background but he had ceased paying attention five minutes into the movie to instead play with the edges of my clothes. "They fit you nicely," He said, now placing his head on my shoulder while I leaned back on his chest. "They make you look so handsome." He added, kissing my neck softly. 

I chuckled. "If you want something then you better ask instead of distracting me with compliments while I'm trying to enjoy _A New Hope_."

"Am I not allowed to tell the man I love the things I like about him?" He defending himself, but we both knew he was lying. He kissed me again, nearly distracting me. When I pulled away he groaned. "Besides, you've had this movie memorized since the first time you saw it. You could probably recite the lines better than the actors."

"Stop complimenting me," I joked, giving him a quick kiss in return. I shifted on his lap so I could better face him, pulling a blanket over us. "Tell me why you're being so lovey."

"I'm in the holiday mood. I want to wear sweaters."

"Well, you better get your own. I don't want your muscles stretching out my collection of sweaters and cardigans."

"Let's go shopping!" He bounced a bit, nearly sending me flying. He moved me off of him and I whined. 

"But the movie just started!"

"And it will be here when we get back. Please?" He pouted and I looked away. I wasn't immune to begging and he and Roxy took advantage of that. 

When I stayed silent he wrapped his arms around my waist and squeezed me, peppering kisses over my face. Roxy, from the foot of the couch, perked up at the excitement and trotted over to us, jumping on top and laying her own kisses over us.

"No, Roxy! You're supposed to be saving me!" I yelled while Luke gave her praises and called her a good girl, only encouraging her attack.

"Surrender!" He demanded. 

"Never!" I laughed, and he silenced it with a kiss that was more laughter between us than it was lips. He slowly pulled away and Roxy sat, wondering what was happening. He gave me an expectant look and I sighed. "Okay, go to the bedroom and grab my wallet. Let's go." 

He grinned, grabbing our things and dragging me out of the apartment after leaving Roxy some food and water for the few hours we'd be gone. He clung tightly to my hand, squeezing it whenever I would slow down to keep me at his pace while we raced down the steps to the parking lot.

"Let's take the car instead of the metro, I want to look at the lights." He said and I agreed, fighting back a grin. He couldn't start the car slower, I thought, while I shivered in the passenger seat and rubbed my hands together. He reached over while backing out of the parking lot, cold air blowing out of the vents until it warmed up in a few minutes, and gathered both of my hands in his one, warming them up for me.

We drove slowly once we got to town, investigating store fronts and looking at Christmas window decorations from the car. We drove around the busy town some time before I pointed out a store that looked festive, a male mannequin in the window wearing a sweater I thought he'd look good in. I tapped his arm, pointing to the store and he quickly parked. 

We rushed into the store, escaping from the cold hand in hand. 

"Tell me what color I look good in." He demanded and I laughed. 

"Every color, darling." I said, browsing through racks of sweaters with one hand and squeezing his hand with the other. "Though I am partial to a deep red color on you. Dark green too. They contrast and compliment your skin and hair respectively."

"You always tell me what I want to hear." He said, though I couldn't tell if he was pleased or disappointed. 

"It's because I'm a genius and you always are searching for the right answer." I said, picking out a sweater and handing it to him to try on, and he laughed. "What?" I asked. 

"You." He smiled. "I had to beg you to come shopping with me and in the five minutes we've been here you've given me three things to try on while also complimenting both of us in one sentence."

"I'm adaptable."

"You're not a charger, Spencer. You're just good." I blushed and pushed him to the changing rooms, but not before giving him a kiss. I waited on the bench outside with middle-aged men waiting for their spouses. One tried to converse with me, simply giving me a look and uttering a single, "Women!" I didn't want confrontation, and just explained I was waiting for my fiancé. He tried to keep the conversation going until Luke came out for me to see how the red sweater looked and the man realized _he_ was my fiancé.

"That's a keeper," I said, making him do a slight spin. He snorted but did what I asked. "Is it too tight?"

"Are you calling me fat?"

"Im calling you muscular. It looks like you're gonna stretch the seams on the arms. Let's go a size up."

"I thought you liked seeing my arms."

"I do," I confirmed. "Almost as much as I love sweaters remaining unharmed. If I didn't care about you ruining sweaters then I would've given you mine. Let's ask an employee if we can get a size up." Like magic, an employee walked up to us asking for the style and size he wanted. I sat back down on the bench, ignoring the way the man near me shifted away. Luke and the employee, whose name I saw was Elizabeth, conversed for a long time before she spun on her heel to the showroom, grinning as she gathered a small stack of sweaters.

"Luke, darling," I called through the dressing room door. "You do know we have a budget, right?"

"She's bringing stuff for you to try on."

"You know how I feel about trying clothes on at the store." I said, getting up so I didn't have to shout. "It's not sanitary."

"She's getting stuff from inventory that hasn't been tried on yet." He said, opening the door and giving me a kiss. I pulled back, remembering the man on the bench. I gave him a look and he frowned, but seemed to understand.

"Alrighty, boys! We have a large red cable knit for Mr. Alvez and a medium mystery sweater for Mr. Reid." She smiled, handing over the clothes. Luke opened his mouth, likely to correct her, when I thanked her, cutting him off. I rushed into the dressing room, trying to avoid touching anything I didn't need to. I cautiously removed the sweater I already had on replacing it with the mysterious sweater Elizabeth had handed to me. 

I turned to look in the mirror and snorted at how ridiculous I looked. 

I was wearing the most awful Christmas sweater I'd ever seen, the Grinch on front embroidered with words that read 'You made my heart grow 3 sizes' and adorned with glitter. 

"Luke, my darling, love of my life, and apple of my eye?"

"Yes, amorcito?" I heard him call from the dressing room next to mine. 

"I have never seen a sweater so fucking ugly in my entire life." 

I heard him cackle in the dressing room before he demanded I come out so he could see it.

I walked out of the dressing room, pouting about the ugly sweater, before coming face to face with Luke, wearing the exact same sweater as me. Before I could react he took a picture of me wearing the Grinch on my chest and I groaned. 

"If Garcia ever sees that photo, or if it ever reaches the light of day I swear to God you will sleep on the couch for the rest of our lives."

"Spencer, baby, amorcito, y mi todo vida, we need these sweaters in our lives. And look!" He added, pointing to the sleeve covering his arm. "Not only does it fit well, it's also that wonderful red color you love to see on me!" 

"You are more than welcome to get this sweater, as long as you promise to not wear it when we are out together."

"I thought you loved me."

"I proposed to you!"

"Yes, but a man who loved me would get matching ugly sweaters with me."

"I love you so much, but not enough to taint my love of sweaters with this disgrace. I will not ruin my aesthetic for you, Luke Alvez."

"Okay, what if we compromise? Yeah? We buy the sweaters, but we don't wear them out in public. They can be our at home sweaters. I mean, I think it's pretty cool so I might wear mine out in public, but you don't have to, I guess."

I hesitated. The sweater was truly hideous. "Fine," I relented. "But we're stopping at the bookshop down the street and you're not allowed to judge how many books I buy."

"Anything for you, amorcito." He grinned and rushed to change and checkout, getting five sweaters all together, three normal ones and our matching atrocities. I dragged him down the street, nearly running to the book store/coffee shop I loved so much. 

When we stepped through the door, shivering and shaking the snow off of our heads, Luke puckered his lips, silently asking for a kiss. I furrowed my brows but granted him one nonetheless. He grinned and pointed above us where mistletoe hung in the doorway. 

"Hello, lover boys." The cashier called from across the store. "I was wondering when I'd see you two again. I have some recommendations for you, Spencer."

I squeezed Luke's arm and rushed off to gather new books while he ordered coffee for the both of us. The ambiance of the familiar bookstore calmed me while Vivian, the cashier, handed me a large stack of books and had me read the summaries before sending me off to find Luke. I hid the stack behind my back when I walked up to him, bumping his shoulder to let him know I was there.

"I got your usual, and a chocolate chip muffin to share." 

I thanked him quietly. 

"Remember when I said you couldn't judge how many books I buy?"

"Yes..."

"Good. Just making sure. I'm going to check out now, meet you at the car!"

Before he could say anything I rushed to check out and tried to shield the mass of books I was collecting from his view. I paid quickly, thanking Vivian, and ran out to the car, calling to Luke so he knew I was leaving with my bags of books. I ran through the cold, my nose growing red and my ears hurting from the biting wind. I tried to put my hands in my pockets but it was difficult with the bulky book bags on my wrists. I picked up the pace and tossed the bags in the back, getting in the drivers seat so I could start the car.

When I was about to move over to the passenger Luke entered the car, taking my seat. I frowned but stayed where I was. He always drove us places, it wouldn't kill me to drive us home for once. He handed me my coffee, sweetened to perfection, and turned up the radio to listen to Christmas carols. 

"So, how many books _did_ you get?" He asked, and I turned up the radio, not looking away from the road. 

"Look, it's your favorite!" I deflected, hearing him laugh as the song filled the car. 

_You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch..._

___

A blaring alarm woke me the next morning, and I hit the alarm clock repeatedly until I found the snooze button. I reached over, searching for warmth and finding Luke's arm, pulling him closer to me to act as another blanket. I pulled him on top of me and he laughed, in and out of sleep.

"Time?" He asked.

"What does it matter?" I responded, kissing his wrist. "Let's stay in bed forever."

"We can as soon as you find out how to pay our bills without working, Doctor Reid."

I groaned, pushing him away and pulling Roxy closer to me instead. "You ruin my dreams." I said, then remembered waking up in the night without him in bed. "Where'd you go last night? I woke up and you were gone."

"Bathroom?" He said, shrugging. I thought it was weird, but our alarm went off again before I could say anything, signaling we needed to get up if we were anticipating arriving to work on time. 

"I'll go put a pot of coffee on." 

"Thank you, amor."

I nodded drearily, still half-asleep. I absentmindedly went through the routine, starting our coffee and bringing Roxy out to use the restroom. It was colder outside then yesterday and I regretted not putting on warmer clothes. I hurried the poor dog and ran back in, rushing to my closet to put on some warmer clothes. I carefully picked out mismatched socks, ones with Christmas trees on them and another with the Grinch on them, a bit of an ode to the atrocity that now sat in my closet. I figured Luke would get a kick out of it. I jumped into brown pants and began to look for my cream sweater to wear.

I noticed I couldn't find any sweaters, or really anything to wear on my top half for work. I only found sleep shirts and undershirts. "Luke?" I yelled, rummaging through my clothes trying to find anything presentable. "Did you do laundry last night?"

"No!" He yelled back, banging pots in the kitchen. "What do you need?"

"A shirt. I can't find anything except my undershirts and stuff I wear to sleep-mostly your old shirts."

He popped into the room. "Weird, maybe borrow something from my closet today?" He said, a small smile on his face. 

"Your stuff doesn't fit me. Maybe I'll just wear this t-shirt into work and change into something in my go-bag."

"Everyone will already be there, at least look through my stuff. Besides, I thought you said you needed to wash the things in your go-bag, you said they were getting musty."

"Yeah," I shrugged, moving to his side of the room. "Yeah, you're right." I thanked him and walked to his dresser, ready to pull out the first thing I saw, at least for today. When I opened the drawer the Grinch stared back at me. 

"Luke Elian Alvez, what the hell did you do with my shirts!"

"Sorry, mi amor, did you say something?" He said, popping into the room again, an unabashed grin on his face. "Oh, are you going to wear the lovely sweater I got for us as a couple today?"

"Where are my sweaters? My sweater vests? My cardigans? You know, the things you said you loved to see me wear?"

"Well, there's a sweater right there, Spencer. Why don't you wear that?" I glared, and he broke his innocent character, laughing loudly at the look on my face. "Please wear it, Spence! It's the last day before we get some time off for Christmas, and I'll wear mine too!"

I hated to admit that I almost gave in on the spot, the man was too damned cute for his own good. I took a deep breath and walked over to him slowly. I gave him a kiss and pulled back.

"I will wear this sweater today. And then, if you ever touch any of my sweaters ever again I will go to prison for murder, but this time I will not be innocent." I smiled while I talked and he choked on laughter.

"I am so in love with you." 

"Yeah, I know. Get dressed, we need to leave soon."

___

The ride to work was mostly silent, I was pouting in the bright red article. As we got closer to Quantico I couldn't believe I had let him get away with this.

"You know you're sleeping on the couch tonight." I broke the silence. 

"And you know you never sleep without me. I'll be in that bed in five minutes flat."

"Not that you'll get anything out of it." I grumbled, driving the rest of the way in silence. 

Luke had to drag me out of the car, and I protested the whole way to the office, dreading the teams taunts when they saw us. I felt like I was disrespecting sweaters everywhere. 

"Morning, boys-Oh my god!" Tara let out a shocked laugh. "Hey guys, you have to see this!" She called to the rest of the team. They gathered quickly and I wondered how we got any work done around here. 

"Wow, looking good."

"Holy shit."

"Is this allowed in the dress code?"

"It's almost Christmas, I'll allow it."

I stomped off to my desk, aware how much I looked like a child, and heard laughter behind me at my antics. 

The day went by without a case, luckily, and with many photographs taken, unluckily. Garcia had gone out on her lunch and found sweaters for everyone to wear, which she claimed was to bring forth Christmas spirit but when she winked at me I knew she was trying to help me out. I was grateful and even smiled in a few photos, my bad mood lessening as the day wore on. Seeing the whole team in, not quite as, ugly sweaters made me feel less self-conscious. I saw Luke slip Garcia some cash at the end of the day, and I realized it wasn't her idea to get the team sweaters too.

"So, what'd he have to do to get you in that ugly sweater? Isn't that like, sacrilegious in the sweater world of Spencer Reid?" JJ teased me when we were wrapping up on paper work for the day.

"Very much so. I told him I'd only get it if I never had to wear it in public. He agreed, then hid all my sweaters while I was asleep last night. He's sleeping on the couch tonight. And probably tomorrow. And I might make him do it on Christmas too."

She laughed loudly and I looked at her confused. "Oh, come on, Spence. Even you know that's not true. You two are attached at the hip. Besides, your tell is showing."

"I don't have a tell." I said, and she laughed again. 

"Whatever you say, Pretty Boy." She winked and gathered her bags, heading out. 

I furrowed my brow but wandered the office, looking for Luke, but he ended up finding me. 

"Hey, amorcito." He said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "You ready to head out? I'm trying to talk Garcia into giving me her bat cave pillow so the couch is more comfortable tonight." He grinned and I rolled my eyes.

"We both know you're not sleeping on the couch. Let's get out of here, I want to finish watching _A New Hope_ , no shopping trips this time."

He grabbed my hand, leading me out. "Whatever you say, my little Grinch." 

I dragged him out in the cold weather, and fought back a grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> are these too long? im just worried their drawn out and boring to read. any thoughts?


	4. Christmas Cards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer and Luke stay late to finish up some paperwork, but the roads get too bad to get home and they're stuck for the night

My watch read 12:13 and I groaned, rubbing at my eyes. I told Luke I wouldn't stay later than 10. I sent him home around six when everyone else left and stayed to get caught up on my case files and grading papers. I hadn't been aware of my surroundings since then. The lights around me were all shut off, save for my desk lamp and the red and green Christmas lights Garcia had strewn up along the banister. I gathered my papers, grabbing my coat and scarf before pulling out my phone to call Luke. 

It was odd he hadn't tried to call me when I was late, but I suppose it's not the first time I've gotten lost in work. The phone ringed incessantly and I realized the sound wasn't just coming from my phone. Had he left his phone here? I looked over the desks, only to find Luke hadn't only left his phone here, but he was still here. He was slumped over on his desk, sleeping through the sound of his phone ringing. I could've sworn I saw him walking out with the rest of the team? I shook his shoulder lightly and he stirred. 

"'M awake," He said, pushing my hand off of him. "Gimme five minutes."

I laughed, "Luke, it's me. I thought I told you to go home?"

That seemed to wake him. He sat up, eyes adjusting to the light, and squinted at his phone. "And you also said you'd be home by ten. I figured you would be here all night so I brought you some food around nine. It's in the fridge." He gestured to the kitchen. "You looked all cute and concentrated so I figured I'd let you work and get caught up on my own stuff, but I guess I fell asleep."

"Well, let's get out of here. It's just past midnight." I said, and he nodded, holding my hand and putting on his jacket. "Go grab the food, I'm hungry, I wanna heat it up at home."

I nodded, jogging to the small Bureau kitchen and rummaging through the packed fridge. I found a brown paper bag from our favorite Indian restaurant and grinned. "Luke Alvez, I love you," I said, despite him not being here. I grabbed the bag and rushed out to the bullpen only to find him standing there, frowning at his phone and shrugging off his coat.

"Hey, what're you doing? I wanna get home and eat this!"

He turned his phone over so I could see it. "There's a blizzard, all main roads are closed and they're advising everyone stay put until at least noon tomorrow. It wasn't even snowing when I came back!" 

I sat down on his desk, setting the bag in between us and taking off my jacket but keeping the scarf on. "Well, you got here nearly three hours ago, darling." I craned my neck and saw the heavy snow coming down through the window. "But they're right. It's really coming down and 1,300 people die every year from driving on snowy roads, and more than 116,800 people are injured. We'll stay here and hopefully be able to head out tomorrow. Maybe Emily will even give us the day off if we're lucky."

He stood up, grabbing the food with one hand and grabbing mine with the other, dragging me into the kitchen. "There's already a kink in my neck from falling asleep at my desk." He groaned and I let go of his hand, bringing mine up to rub at his shoulder. He leaned into my touch and set the bag on the counter. I tried to microwave it with only one hand when he realized and took it from me, smiling sheepishly. 

"Do you think anyone knows we're here? Or will they just come in tomorrow to find us sleeping at our desks?" He asked. 

"Probably not, I also told JJ I'd leave by ten so she probably thinks I just missed the storm. Either way, I think we should sleep in Derek's old office or somewhere with a couch, not the desks. You already hurt your neck." 

The microwave beeped and I pulled out the steaming food, moving to the round table to eat together. We hunched over the platter of foods, talking about nothing and everything. When we finished I leaned back in the chair, holding my stomach. 

"Luke Alvez, you treat me too well." I looked over at him, his skin glowing in the multicolored lights. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Must've done something extraordinary, considering how great I am." He quipped back and I snorted, playfully slapping his shoulder. "I'm sorry, amorcito," He laughed. "But whatever we did do to find each other, we must've done something right." He leaned in closer, asking I question I had answered a million times. 

I closed the gap between our lips, instinctively moving my hands, one on his cheek and the other the crook of his neck. His hands slinked around my waist and I could feel him smile against my lips when I moved, slowly placing myself on top of him. It was hard to maneuver myself on him, being taller and lankier than he was and with him sitting on an office chair opposed to our bed at home, or even a couch. He nibbled on my lower lip, his hands slipping below my hips, and I opened my mouth just enough to frustrate him. I felt him groan against my mouth and I laughed, taking in oxygen I didn't realize I needed. The average human could last anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes without oxygen, and in that moment, catching my breath, I thought it was quite a design flaw on our part. Evolution should really have done better. 

He pulled back and his eyes raked over me, faces flushed and lips itching to touch again. I tried to reconnect our lips and his head pulled back. 

I frowned. "I want you," I pleaded, moving my body against his. 

"I want you too, but we can't exactly hurry home now."

"I want you here, now!" He grabbed onto my hips, stopping them from moving and I whined. "Okay! Okay, I'm sorry, just-just give me a minute." I pulled back, resting my head on his shoulder while I tried to even my breathing. 

"I would, but I don't know how to erase the security tapes. And even you, my genius, are horrible with technology and probably don't know either."

"I'm perfectly capable with technology, I just don't like it."

"I had to teach you how to FaceTime a few months ago."

"That's different!" I defended myself, and he just laughed, pecking my cheek. He looked down and grinned at my erection. 

"Go grab our go-bags, we can sleep in here tonight. You need to go calm down."

I blushed but just glared and got off of him, going to grab our bags so we could change and at least have some blankets. 

When I came back he was on the phone with someone and didn't notice me coming in. "Yeah, he should be in here soon."

"Who is it?" I asked, and he turned quickly, passing me the phone. 

"JJ" He mouthed. I furrowed my brow, but answered nonetheless. 

"Jage?" I asked. "Are you okay, what's up?"

"No, I'm fine! I'm sorry to call you so late but Henry woke up from a nightmare and he said he won't go back to sleep unless he talks to Uncle Spencer. Uncle Luke doesn't have the same charm."

I smiled, laughing slightly. "That's because Uncle Luke is the least favorite, he came in too late to win their affection like I have. I'm the winner when it comes to those boys. Put him on the phone."

"Uncle Spencer?" A small voice came over through the phone, crackly. 

"Hey, buddy! I heard you had a nightmare. Want to talk about it?" I noticed Luke had made up a bed on the floor and changed into pajamas, gesturing for me to do the same. I did as Henry spoke, laying down next to Luke. 

"No!" He nearly shouted, and I told him it was okay, he didn't have to talk about it right now. "Tell me a story about you and Uncle Luke."

"Me and Uncle Luke?" I asked, smiling at the man next to me while he pulled me closer. "Well, did you know Uncle Luke is one of my favorite things to talk about? Right after you, of course." I heard him giggle over the phone and knew he'd be asleep soon. "I'll tell you a story about the time Uncle Luke got me the most hideous, ugly, horrendous, and disgusting Christmas sweater in the whole world! And if you don't go to sleep soon, it'll be under the tree with your name on it on Christmas morning!"

"No!" He exclaimed, hiding his giggles. I barely got into the story when I heard his breathing slow and soft snores replaced giggles. JJ took the phone away from him, leaving his room and thanking me.

"You're a godsend, Spence." She said, and I heard a door click shut behind her. "I don't know what that nightmare was about, but he was adamant he needed to talk to you. He muttered something about a car so I think he maybe he was heard Will and I talking about bad roads and hoping you got home okay. I'm glad you did though, I heard on the news they were talking about shutting everything down tomorrow, even work. It's the worst blizzard D.C has had in years."

"Yeah, about that, I didn't actually get home."

"What do you mean? I thought Luke went home earlier, and we're talking on his phone. You didn't answer yours."

"Yeah, Luke came back to the office around nine to bring me food and fell asleep while I finished my work. We were about to leave around midnight when we realized we couldn't leave. We're hunkered down in the conference room for tonight."

"Oh, Spence, I'm sorry! Well, I hope you at least have some blankets. And hopefully the storm will calm down soon so you two can get out of there soon. Listen, I gotta go check on Henry, make sure he's still asleep, but you two get some good rest tonight, okay? Love you, Spence, take care!"

"Love you too, night." I hung up, handing Luke his phone back and laying fully on the floor. "This floor is already uncomfortable."

"Didn't you tell me sleeping on the floor can help with posture?"

"My posture is impeccable, thank you very much!" I said, and he snorted, pulling me on top of him, 

"Am I more comfortable than the floor?"

I nuzzled my face into his shirt, breathing in his scent and smiling. "Maybe."

"Good, now get some sleep, we'll have a long day tomorrow." He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and I impossibly tried to get closer to him, smiling and saying goodnight as I was already falling asleep.

___

I heard whispers around me and stirred slightly in my sleep. The sound of high heels tapping on the floor got me going, waking up much more instantly and wondering where I was before remembering last night. I felt the warmth of Luke's chest and forgot everything else, smiling and kissing his chest, pressing my body against his so we could be closer. I heard him groan from waking up, rubbing my back with his hand and muttering something incoherent. I nearly drifted off to sleep again when a bright light startled me, before an array of giggles took over the whole room. 

I opened my eyes quickly, pressing my hands against Luke's chest to sit up, and squinted to adjust to the light. There was a blurry gaggle of people who I was pretty sure was our team, holding phones and cameras up and pointing them in our direction. 

"Babe," Luke groaned. "What's going on? And why does my back hurt so fucking much!" 

I hit his chest, waking him more before he realized what was going on and sat up quickly, making me fall off of him and yelping in surprise. 

"Aw, ladies, I think we have the perfect picture for the BAU Christmas card we always talked about!" Garcia grinned, showing everyone the photo before turning her phone to us so we could look at it. When I saw it I reached up to where my hair should've been, and found a Santa hat hiding all of my hair, save for a few loose curls, and looked to Luke to see he was also wearing one. Christmas lights and tinsel covered our bodies and I wondered how Luke slept through it all. I know how I did, but how did he?

I reached blindly until I found my glasses, pulling them on and finding Emily towards the back of the group. "Is this not against HR rules or something?"

"I mean, if we're getting technical I think sleeping with your coworker is more against HR than this, so I think I'll have to let it slide."

"I need to go get these printed right now!" Garcia cried happily, dragging JJ and Tara out with her to the Bat Cave.

Everyone slowly left until it was just Luke and I again, still adorning tinsel and Santa hats.

___

_Two Weeks Later_

"Luke!" I shouted from the kitchen, noticing Roxy barking at the door. "Will you grab the mail? I'm cooking." He came running in, pushing Roxy away from the door before grabbing the mail, coming back in and sorting through bills. 

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." He said, holding what looked like some kind of cardstock. Before I could ask what it was he flipped it to me, and I was suddenly staring at a picture of the two of us from weeks ago, sleeping on the floor of the conference room with Santa hats. 

"Visions of sugar-plums dancing through Alvez and Reid's heads, the BAU wishes you a very Merry Christmas." I read off of the card, and couldn't help but laugh. I took the card from his hands and hung it on the fridge.

"I was dreaming of you, darling." I said, and he smiled, giving me a peck on the lips. 

"Happy Holidays, amorcito."


	5. Cookies and Carols

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer is an amazing baker and Luke may love cookie dough more than his boyfriend.

"Sugar?"

"Check."

"Butter?"

"Check."

"Eggs?"

"Check."

"Flour?"

"Check."

"Baking soda, powder, salt, and vanilla?"

"Check, check, check, and check!"

"Perfect!" I smiled, putting all my ingredients in the order I was going to use them, pre-measuring. _Mise en place,_ a French term meaning everything in its place. I wasn't the best cook in the world, but I was an amazing baker. It's all science! 

Luke sat on the counter, watching intently as I carefully put everything into the mixing bowl, creaming butter and sugar and folding in all my dry ingredients. I put the beaters on the counter, and as soon as I did so Luke picked them up, licking the remaining dough off of them. 

"Luke!" I shouted. "What if I still needed those!"

"Then I'd give them back. Won't any bacteria cook out in the oven?"

"Not really! Besides if you keep eating raw eggs and flour you're going to get sick."

He grinned, finishing what was on the beaters. "I'll take my chances. I have a great boyfriend to take care of me in case I get sick."

"If you get a foodborn illness from stealing my supplies, you better hope Roxy knows how to take care of you." I quipped, wrapping my dough to chill before rolling it out. He laughed, coming up behind me and pecking me on the cheek. I wiped off his germs from raw flour and unpasteurized eggs, and he rolled his eyes, but I saw him smiling.

"Roxy would take great care of me. What do you think I did before I met you?"

"Well, back then you didn't have an amazing boyfriend to make you cookies, so I assume you weren't eating raw cookie dough as much then."

He scowled, and I knew I was right. Roxy barked once, in what I assume was doggy solidarity with me, despite the fact that she also seemed to be begging for some sweets. I grabbed a treat out of the cupboard and tossed it to her, and she trotted into the other room, holding the treat in her mouth and wagging her tail. In reality, I knew that she didn't understand our argument, and if she did, she would've sided with Luke. _But_ I gave her a treat so for at least the next ten minutes I'm her favorite. 

I leaned against the counter, taking a moment before cleaning up my mess, and Luke's phone erupted into sound, loudly playing Christmas carols. 'Baby it's Cold Outside' filled the kitchen and I smiled despite myself. 

"Dance with me."

"You know I can't dance."

"You always say that, but you always dance with me. All you have to do is hold me and sway." He said, reaching his hands out, asking me to join him. I relented, letting him pull me close. He put his head on my shoulder and swayed back and forth with me while the song played on. 

_This evening has_ _been (been hoping that you'd drop in)_ _so very nice_

His hands snuck around my waist and I breathed in the smell of his cologne, feeling overwhelmed by the moment. I loved Luke Alvez more than I knew I could. I heard a timer go off in the background, meaning it was time to get the cookies out of the freezer and roll them out. I couldn't bring myself to tear away from him and I let the timer keep beeping, pushing it out of my head and instead paying attention to the music, and Luke's hands, and the sound of Roxy's nails clicking against the floor as she joined us again, sitting on the floor with her head cocked, watching her owners sway together. 

_(Your eyes are like starlight now)_

_(I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell)_

I kissed his temple, near his hairline, and we both pulled away slowly as the song came to an end.

"I love you," He said, looking me in the eyes.

"I love you, so much," I said, gazing over his entire person. His pupils were dilated and his skin was slightly flushed. His eyes darted between my lips and my eyes, and I felt his fingertips dig slightly into my sides, making me squirm. It didn't take a profiler to know he was telling the truth. "I love you so much," I continued. "That I'll even let you eat the leftover cookie dough after I cut them all out if you help me."

"I'll be your sous chef!" He said, mood changing quickly, going to the fridge to grab the dough, and reaching into the cupboard for cookie cutters. I rolled the dough, letting Luke choose which cookie cutters to use, so long as they were Christmas themed. 

His Christmas music continued to play in the background and I caught him eating cookie dough before we were done twice, only because I let him get away with it the other three times, causing a flour fight that ended with many casualties, including poor Roxy.

After an hour the house smelt like butter and sugar, and the kitchen was cozy from keeping the oven going for so long. We had four dozen Christmas cookies, ranging in shapes from trees to angels and presents to snowflakes. I couldn't be bothered to make frosting, eating warm cookies out of the oven with nothing on top. There was always tomorrow anyway for more cooking, now we had to clean up the mess we made in the midst of our flour war. I looked up to assess the damage and couldn't help but laugh out loud, Luke's normally black hair was white and dusting his shoulders every time he moved. His shirt and pants had flour spots and handprints all over them and every time he took a step he left behind a trail like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown. I looked for Roxy and found it looked like she had been in the snow, or more accurately the dessert. Her tail wagged wildly and flour flew everywhere. I sent Luke to bring her outside and try to clean her up while I started on the kitchen. 

I shook my head and watched flour fly out from my frizzy curls, laughing despite the mess I was making. I stripped down to my boxers and moved my floured clothes into a pile, putting my hair back with the hair tie Luke insisted I keep on my wrist, and brushed all the flour from the counter to the floor. I quickly swept it up and cleared away all the other utensils and such that were cluttering the counter. I had already finished cleaning up, loading our dishwasher and not actually doing the dished, when I heard the door open and Roxy run into the kitchen, mostly flour free.

"Take off your clothes before you come in here!" I said. "I just finished cleaning and I don't want to have to sweep up more flour." 

I heard him laugh and stay put, taking his time. I remember my promise to him and scooped up the remaining cookie dough, putting it in a bowl with a spoon for him and sat on the counter, waiting for him to join me. When he came in he grinned. 

"Almost naked boyfriend _and_ cookie dough? I must be the luckiest man on Earth."

"Don't make me change my mind." I said and he rushed to me, taking the bowl away from my hands before I could take it away.

"Your hair still has flour in it, amorcito."

"You should see yourself," I snorted. "We need to shower. I feel gritty."

"Can I join you?" He wiggled his eyebrows at me and I got off the counter, making my way to the bathroom and pulling my hair out of the loose ponytail it was in. 

"Which is more important? Showering with me or eating cookie dough?" I asked, turning back to look at him. 

He looked between the dough and me, before sighing and setting the dough down, running off to join me, dragging me in the bathroom with him while we giggled. He left the music on and it filled the house, reaching us even behind closed doors. 

_Make my wish come true,_

_Baby, all I want for Christmas is you_


	6. Fireplace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer and Luke move into a new home and Spencer thinks about what he wants for Christmas

Our new house was something out of my dreams. It was bigger than we needed, granted, with it just being Luke and I, but how on Earth could we possibly turn down a house with a _library?_ When Derek told me one of his rentals just opened up, right when Luke and I were looking for a place to move in together, I was expecting something very low-key. Likely modern, seeing how much time Derek typically spends remodeling. What I didn't expect was a two story house with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two offices, a beautiful kitchen and dining room, and a living room with a gorgeous dark stone fireplace. Even if it didn't have a library, I wasn't sure how we could say no. Besides, the extra bedrooms could be used for Henry and Michael or Hank, when we watch them overnight. The house in and of itself was beautiful, located in small town just outside of Quantico, called Dumfries. Luke thought the name was stupid, but I told him we weren't choosing a house based on town names. It had dark wood trims and accents, large windows that let in natural light, and a backyard big enough for Roxy to run around in and for planting a garden. It was straight out of a dark academia wet dream. 

When Derek told us the rent I laughed, thinking he was joking. It was impossibly cheap. We stood out in the freezing cold, snow falling into our hair, arguing with him that there was no way on Earth we could get that for a cool $1500 a month. He assured us he was still making plenty of money off of us, saying that he simply gave us a small friends and family discount, gesturing to Luke and I respectively. I couldn't help but bear hug him like I was Garcia. He let me read through the contract, it only taking me a minute or so, before Luke and I signed it on the spot. He handed us the keys and sent us back into the home, leaving so we could enjoy the privacy. He told us it was move in ready, but I didn't think he meant it was that easy, just stating he'd be by that weekend to help us move our stuff in and some of his display items out. 

The whole team had come with him, despite neither Luke nor I telling anyone besides Derek about our move. When we mentioned this Garcia quickly grew interested in a box of my books, and we laughed. 

At the end of the long day of officially moving in, the house truly feeling like home, we recalled stories from our old individual apartments with the team, a few pizzas, and some wine, compliments of Rossi. 

"No, no, no, I think the best story from their old places was before we even knew they were together!" JJ laughed, having had a bit too much wine. "Do you guys remember when we had agreed to go to Spence's apartment for a game night but someone told him the wrong date-"

"It wasn't 'someone,'" I laughed. "It was you, JJ!" She scowled, reprimanding me for interrupting before going back to her story. 

"Anyways, as I was saying before I was interrupted, me, Tara, and Garcia arrived a bit early to help him set up, probably around seven or eight, and he came to the door in nothing but pajama bottoms, tried to get us to leave, before we barged our way in and found Luke in the bathroom, getting ready for bed. They told some bullshit lie about Luke's car not starting after they looked over a case together so Spencer 'graciously' offered Luke a place for the night."

"In our defense, you guys still didn't know we were together until we told you, six months after that." Luke piped in, and I agreed. 

"Damn profiling blinkers." Emily muttered, still mad it had taken her so long to notice her team was hiding something like that. 

The team laughed in agreement while Luke pulled me closer, pressing his lips to mine in a quick, reassuring manner. 

"Okay, everyone, as much as this place is feeling like a home, I did bring an extra box to get this place truly ready." Penelope grinned, running off to wherever she hid a remaining box. She came back with a very large box, struggling to carry it, and smiled sheepishly when we questioned her. "We have to decorate for Christmas!" She exclaimed, positively giddy at the prospect. 

"Penelope," I said, having a hard time keeping a straight face with her excitement. "We just moved in. We don't even have a Christmas tree yet!" 

"I know, that's why you need to decorate!" She said, already handing out items for everyone to display. "It's homey, but it's not _home_!"

Luke gave her a reproachful look, and she just giggled. 

"Okay, JJ you put the stockings over the fireplace, I have one for all three of them. My beautiful Emily Prentiss, I think you had too much wine, you can just sit. Sugar, go put mistletoe in every doorway you can possibly find. Rossi, get me more wine. Tara and Matt, hang tinsel up around anywhere that needs a little sparkle, so everywhere. And finally, my two beautiful lover boys, find somewhere to hang the Christmas lights."

"Garcia, you don't think this is a bit much?" Luke asked, and I elbowed him lightly. She'd just warmed up to him, he was walking a fine line. She glared at him and he simply put his hands up, taking the lights with him and dragging me around the house to find a good place for them. 

We rushed through decorating for Christmas, the team tired and Luke and I antsy to spend the first real night in our house together. We rushed them, saying it looked perfect when it was uneven and messy, and they seem to realize what was happening, everyone making one excuse or another to head out, congratulating us and leaving behind housewarming presents. 

When everyone finally left we collapsed onto the couch, admiring some of the nicer decorations. JJ had done a nice job hanging up the stockings, and we laughed at the one that Garcia had embroidered to say 'Roxy,' a bone already sticking out the top for her to enjoy on Christmas morning. We sat in silence for a long time, before I started laughing. I tried to control my giggles but they kept building up until Luke looked at me like I was crazy. 

"I'm sorry-" I laughed, trying to explain. "I just can't believe this is real. I can't imagine how twelve year old Spencer would react, just graduated high school, if you told him in twenty years he'd be living with the love of his life in an old house with a library, three PhDs, working for one of the most exclusive units of the FBI. I didn't think I'd live past 25 back then."

Luke frowned at that last part, pulling me up off the couch and gathering blankets to sit on. We settled in front of the fireplace, flames casting a warm glow on our skin. 

"This house is so beautiful." Luke said, resting his head on my chest while we laid in the warmth of the fire. Roxy trotted on the wood floor, coming to lay with us. "I can't believe it's ours. I can't believe I get to live with you! You're mine!" He seemed to get excited, like he had forgotten that we were together until that moment. 

Our only light was from Christmas lights in the far side of the living room and the flames, and I was struck with the fact that I had never been happier, sitting with Luke and Roxy, doing nothing but feeling. 

"You know, this is our first Christmas living in the same house. It's only three weeks away and you still haven't told me what you wanted." Luke said, twisting his body so he look up at me as he spoke. 

I thought for a moment. I didn't know what else I could possibly need. I was living in my dream home with my dream guy working my dream job. 

"I never thought I could have this." I said quietly, pulling him closer to me, like he might disappear if I didn't. "When I joined the Bureau I was terrified I would slip up, saying something about a ex-boyfriend or use the wrong pronouns when telling a story. Even if I didn't slip up, I worked with profilers. I was sure they'd find me out eventually. It just got scarier and scarier as the years went on and we got closer. Getting shunned by coworkers is hard, but getting shunned by someone who you love, people who have become your family, it ate me up. I was terrified of when they'd find out and I'd get fired. Even as the years went on and it became more acceptable than it was in 2003. 

"But then I met you and all I could think was how nice you were, how handsome, how brave, how you didn't treat me like a robot. And. it was like all caution was out the window, I just needed to know you. It was so hard to hide it from you, my brain felt like it just stopped and for the first time in my life I could only focus on one thing, and it was you. 

"JJ knew. I drunkenly told her I was bisexual one time, before crying to her all night long, begging her not to tell anyone. And she didn't, but then when I started acting the way I did around you she guessed I had a crush, and she was right. But when we got together and I wasn't such an idiot around you she just assumed I had gotten over it and simply became friends, because she thought you were straight." 

Luke laughed. "I find it hard to believe there was ever a time in your life you were only thinking about one thing."

I ignored him, continuing what I was saying. "All I wanted, when I was 21 and fresh out of the academy, was to live another four years. Then Tobias Hankel happened and it felt like it was my time, a sign from the universe that I was going to go out either from schizophrenia or dilaudid. What I'm trying to say is I could have never imagined my life the way it is now, out to the team, dating one of my coworkers and living with him! Him! Sitting in front of the fireplace together and just being happy. I don't know how I could want anything else."

Luke shifted his body suddenly, leaning on top of me and kissing me. He ran his hands through my hair and got it caught on the curls, both of us laughing. 

"So what I'm hearing is, I should get you some more books for the library?"

I gave him another kiss, short and sweet this time. "That's how I know you're the one for me." I said, holding him by the fireplace and dreaming about Christmas and new books. 


	7. Dinner?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SSA Alvez and SSA Doctor Reid are the only ones with no plans for Christmas. Spencer is sure he can handle his crush on the handsome man for one night, and Luke is positive even a seasoned profiler like Spencer won't see through his exterior to find the hidden crush. Oblivious Spencer ensues.

Realizing I'd be alone for Christmas wasn't necessarily a sad fact. My mother had a hard time around holidays and seeing me, something very out of her routine, tended to confuse her, so I decided I'd stay home instead of visit her at the center she lived in. It wasn't the first time I avoided going around the holidays, but the team had also been out on cases until the early hours of Christmas for the past three years, spending a short amount of time together before everyone disbanded to see their families. 

Seeing them in the early hours of the morning before we separated was my version of Christmas these past years, and I had strangely been looking forward to it before I realized it wouldn't be happening. It was Christmas Eve, and though we were on call in case of an emergency, we had yet to be called out for a case. No one was suffering from a serial killer or people going missing in small towns, and because of it I would be spending Christmas alone. When the office grew dark, the sun setting and natural light no longer streaming in through the windows, and everyone gathered their bags JJ came over to me. 

"So, what is the great Doctor Reid planning for his Christmas day? Going to see Diana?" She asked, checking her phone for any missed messages before looking down to where I was sitting. Our height difference was so intense I was almost as tall as her when I sat and she stood. 

"Uh, well, you know I'll stay at home, watch a _Doctor Who_ Christmas special and maybe read a few books. Nothing eventful. I hope Henry and Michael like their gifts! It took me so long to find stuff I thought they'd like, and I learned toy stores do not fit my idea of a relaxing day off."

"You know the boys, as soon as I say your name they're interested. They'll like anything you get them." She said, something restrained in her voice that I couldn't place. "But you're really not going to see your mom?"

"No," I said, starting to feel guilty. "Everyone in her home gets visitors around the holidays and it confuses her. When I go there she gets more confused, I just disturb her schedule. I'll see her when everything else cools down, and until then I'll send her letters everyday."

"You shouldn't be alone on Christmas, Spence." JJ frowned. "You can come over to ours for Christmas dinner? The boys would love to see you, it's been so long."

Now I frowned, looking down into my empty coffee mug. If she wanted me to come, she would've invited me sooner, but now she felt bad that I would be alone on Christmas, despite the fact not bothering me much. "I'm okay, JJ." I looked back up and smiled at her to show her I was being truthful. "I normally spend the day alone anyways, just seeing you guys in the morning before we split after the case ends and we get back home. Enjoy Christmas with your family, give Will and the boys my love." 

She smiled sadly at me, giving me a tight hug before leaving to spend Christmas with her family. 

"Me, too." Luke said, not looking up from his files as he passed my desk. 

"What?" I asked, wondering where he had come from. 

"I'm also spending Christmas alone."

"Luke, why didn't you say anything?" I asked, a little confused as to why he was spending it alone in the first place. The first time Luke told me all of the family he had I was grateful for the eidetic memory to keep up. We had gotten rather closer since I got out of prison and I was surprised he hadn't mentioned it sooner.

"Same reason you didn't, I supposed." He shrugged, nonchalant. "I don't want anyone to feel responsible for keeping me company. Especially since I'm still the newbie."

I scoffed. "Luke, you've been here for over a year, Penelope is just giving you a hard time. You're as much apart of this family as I am."

He smiled at me, but didn't otherwise acknowledge it. "You know how it is. Tara's got her brother and dad, Matt has his million kids. Emily's introducing her girlfriend to the family, Garcia has Sam and her brothers. Rossi's got Joy and Kai. It's easy to think of the team as family, and even when they reciprocate it, they've got their own blood families to be with on holidays."

I looked at Luke, studying his face. He wasn't asking anything, just stating the facts, trying to relate to me. It made me want to spend time with him more. "You know, we could maybe do something at my apartment?" I suggested, relaxing my shoulders and shrugging slightly, as if to say it didn't matter to me what he said. "Have a non-formal Christmas dinner or something of the sort."

He smiled, shifting slightly from where he stood to face me better, putting the file he had behind his back. All subtle ways to show he was interested, even if wasn't trying to portray that. "Yeah? I wouldn't want to inconvenience you or anything, I'm sure you don't have a Christmas ham ready or anything like that."

I laughed, scrunching up my nose a bit. "I'm not a big pork fan," I admitted. "Leave it to the BAU to ruin foods. Bad case a few years back. But, I was thinking, neither of us had plans so we could do something... 'low-key,' order food and just have some company on Christmas?" I felt weird asking him to hang out. It felt intimate. I wasn't typically one to initiate plans, especially so after prison.

"Yeah!" Luke smiled, hand reaching to rub the back of his neck before dropping back down, avoiding the nervous gesture, even though I had already seen it. Why would _he_ be nervous to see _me_? I was nervous, but understandably so. In growing closer to the man after my release, I found it harder to concentrate than it should've been at times. His big brown eyes were so kind, he aftershave smelt like cinnamon and lavender. His arms were huge and he-

"Spencer?"

"Sorry, what did you say?" I asked, shaking my head slightly and feeling my ears burn. 

"I asked how you felt about something like Indian? There's a great place that does 24 hour delivery about halfway from my apartment to yours."

"Sounds perfect." 

"Great! I'll, uh, I'll text you tonight to figure out details. I've gotta go ask Garcia to look into this case for me, I'll talk to you later." He smiled bright white and I couldn't help but reciprocate it. 

"Good luck with Garcia." I said, and he gave me another smile, turning off to enter her lair. 

* * *

It was approximately two hours later, sitting on my couch with a book in my hand, that I realized my apartment was a mess. I hadn't fixed the mess the police created when they went through my apartment, and before then I wasn't used to company anyways, not caring to organize much other than my books and just doing a weekly sweeping and dusting. It was disorganized, books, files, and papers spread about nearly every surface. I couldn't remember the last time I had opened the curtains, though really I could-it was three months, two weeks, and four days ago-and I realized that I had to start cleaning now, not able to think about anything else until I decluttered my apartment. 

I started in the bathroom, as it was probably the least messy. I just did routine cleaning before glancing at the medicine cabinet, hidden behind the mirror. What if he asked to go to the bathroom and then snooped? It's the easiest way to profile someone. Mine had the basics, things you wouldn't get much out of, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss, some antibacterial gel for cuts, a bit of hair product I rarely got around to using.

There were two toothbrushes, mine and one still in it's package, on the rare occasion someone spent the night it wasn't often that people came prepared to stay at someone's house. I hid the unused toothbrush in the cupboard with a box of unopened toothpaste, down there it looked like I just had one ready for when I had to replace it. 

Sleeping pills, both prescribed and homeopathic. Everyone on the team had trouble sleeping, but I was pretty sure I was the only one medicated for it. I hid the prescription bottle underneath my sink. 

A brush that I needed to clean, curly hairs stuck in the bristles. I disposed of them in the trashcan, ready to take out the bag when I was done here too. 

My razor, little hairs from my face stuck in between the blades. I stopped what I was doing, quickly shaved away any stubble, and disposed of the blade, brandishing a new one on the handle. 

I folded towels and gathered dirty clothes. Cleaned the inside of my shower and ensured that there was a full roll of toilet paper on the holder. It looked better now than it did when I moved in. 

After disposing of the remaining trash I moved onto my living area. I put the books back on my shelf, alphabetical order and sorted by genre, I gathered case files and organized them, which ones were most urgent, and placed them on my desk, looking messy in an organized way, like I hadn't tried too hard despite the fact that I tried very hard. I swept and dusted floors and windowsills and shelves. I opened the curtains and windows, letting fresh air into the apartment that had been shut out from it for so long. It was cold, I shivered when the first gust came in, but it felt good. The air in my apartment had been stale but breathing this in was so much better. I pulled on a cardigan to combat the cold and glanced to my kitchen. That was already surprisingly clean, I didn't often cook and had just cleaned it last week, going through my fridge to dispose of any expired foods. 

That was it, really. I looked at my watch and saw it had only taken an hour of my time. I knew I wouldn't be asleep until around three in the morning, and not wanting to waste the next six hours, I thought of anything else I could clean to prepare for tomorrow. Everywhere Luke would go to or would see, was near spotless, the only slight mess being on my desk, and that was organized mess. I wouldn't be touching that. I sat for a moment before glancing down the hall, I could clean my room.

I wasn't stupid, I knew Luke was just a friend and that the attraction I felt for him wasn't reciprocated. He had told me before he was gay, when I came out to him as bisexual, but he had never put out any signs of attraction that i knew I had let slip. Despite that, I found myself walking towards my bedroom, prepared to clean it till it was good enough for an orgy. I washed my sheets yesterday, so that wasn't needed at this point. I found books and files in my bed when I made it up. I opened the windows in there too, letting in fresh air. I thought about what Luke would get from me if he saw my room, what he could profile. Dull walls were simply apart of my lease, not allowed to paint them or use decorations of any sort. My bed was made nicely, only because I just made it, which would make him think I had a routine I likely stuck to. I had a bedside table, holding a lamp, and now some books and files, showing I don't keep work and personal life separately. My closet was surprisingly well organized, cardigans together, suits in one spot, sweaters in another. My drawers were similar, each drawer filled with a specific type of bottoms. The least organized part was my sock drawer, each pair separated and matched with an opposite kind. Some would say it's because I'm anal, like things to be set and specific, but in reality I just needed to be able to find stuff easily when I need to leave at a moment's notice. I think Luke would know it's the latter. 

I looked to my bedside table and knew what was in the drawers said more about me than the rest of my room did. A journal, mandated by my Bureau mandated therapist. Not much was written in there, but enough to get an insight into my mind. A box half-full of condoms, a bottle half-full of lube, some other sexual things. Anxiety medicine, prescribed by said therapist. Phone charger. A wide array of items in there that somehow managed to cover most of what I would hide from people I didn't know, even people I did know. 

There was nothing left to clean. It was nearing ten and I hadn't eaten dinner and was still wearing the suit pants I had worn to work earlier and the addition of the cardigan. I stripped slowly, carefully placing the clothes into a hamper for dirty laundry, not wanting to create mess where I had just cleaned it, and changed into a pair of sweatpants Garcia had bought me as a birthday present a few years prior, saying I needed to relax and I couldn't do that if I didn't either get laid or get sweatpants. I laughed at the memory and grabbed my phone, planning to order food from the Chinese place near my apartment. 

There was a text waiting for me, received twelve minutes prior. 

_Luke Alvez - > Spencer Reid (Me)_

-Hey, do you want to do dinner or lunch tomorrow? I figured since we're both free all day I would check

_Spence - > Luke _

-It doesn't matter to me, you could come first thing in the morning and I would be fine with it! Just let me know when you're on your way.

He answered near immediately, surprising me. I didn't peg him to be the type to constantly be on his phone. 

_Luke Alvez - > Spencer Reid_

-I might take you up on that, Doctor Reid. I'd like to see what you're like in the mornings. What time do you wake up?

I felt my ears burn, and didn't know how to respond. I had meant it as a joke, but humor wasn't my forte. Though, the idea of spending the day with Luke was not unappealing. 

_Spence - > Luke_

-Be here at 10, I won't wake up earlier than that. In case I sleep through my alarm again, the key to my apartment is hidden in the pot outside my apartment. 

_Luke Alvez - > Spencer Reid_

-Sounds good :) see you then!

I stared at the emoticon Luke had sent me. It was obviously a smile, though I mostly knew what it was from when Garcia had sat me down and explained that I texted like an elderly man, showing me all different emoticons and abbreviations, none of which really stuck. Something about the smile made me smile, and I set my phone down. I was only 10:30, but the cleaning made me tired. I knew sleep wouldn't take over for some hours, but I laid in bed anyways, above the covers I had just nicely made, and waited for it to take me.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to confusion. It smelt like coffee and when I listened carefully I thought I could hear someone in my kitchen. I didn't remember having anyone over the night prior, and that wasn't something I was likely to forget, so who was in my apartment? I stood carefully, reaching for the gun in my beside drawer, clad only in a pair the sweatpants I had slipped into last night. I opened my door slowly, only to find Luke standing there, holding a cup of coffee, looking wide-eyed at me.

"What the hell, man!" I shouted, switching the safety on and going to put it back where he had taken it from. "Jesus Christ, Luke, you scared the hell out of me, what time is it?"

"After ten," He said, handing me a cup of coffee. It was sweetened how I liked it and I chugged it, ignoring how hot it was. "I didn't mean to scare you. I texted you! Then when I got here I knocked but you didn't answer so I used your spare-which is very obviously placed and that worries me considering you're a federal agent-and when I got in here I didn't want to intrude in your room so I made coffee!" He pushed his cup forward, as though he was proving he did indeed do what he said. "Why did you come at me with a gun!" He added accusingly. 

"There were strange noises in the kitchen and I didn't have anyone over last night so I got nervous! As you pointed out I'm a federal agent, one who's been to prison, so I react quickly!"

"Do you often?"

"Often? Do I often what?"

His skin flushed red, I got the feeling he hadn't intended saying that. "Do you often... you know, have people over?"

"Let's start over." I avoided the question. "First of all, merry Christmas! Secondly, I'm sorry I held you at gunpoint."

Luke laughed, and I wasn't worried about ruining the day anymore. "Merry Christmas! I'm sorry I made you think someone broke in just so I could drink your delicious coffee. Are you hungry?"

I took a moment to take in Luke. He was wearing a button-up and a nice pair of jeans. His hair was nice as always. I suddenly felt underdressed. 

"Very." I said. "Can I maybe take a moment to get dressed and then I can make some breakfast?"

His eyes raked up and down my body, nodding. "If you want to change, yeah of course." His phrasing was weird, but I got up, running to my bedroom, and quickly pulling on what I deemed nice, a red cardigan I had yet to wear, over a white shirt and olive pants. Since we were celebrating Christmas, I figured I might as well dress festive. 

When I came back out, sans gun, Luke was looking over my books, trailing a finger across the spines. 

"Oscar Wilde..." He said to himself, pulling the book out. _The Picture of Dorian Gray._

"Have you read it?" I asked, startling him. "It's one of my favorites, though I've not read it in quite some time."

"I never read it, but I wanted to."

"You can borrow it, so long as you don't mind notes in the margins." He smiled, moving the book to his bag and thanking me. "Consider it a Christmas present. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Something so full of calories and sugar that I won't be able to move for a week. It is Christmas, afterall."

I grinned, bringing him to the kitchen where I pulled out everything for waffles. We made them in silence, occasionally bumping into each other in the small space. 

"Tell me, Doc," He said while I pulled a waffle out of the iron. "Is there a reason waffles are so much better than pancakes?"

"Actually, there is! Waffles tend to be more texturally pleasing than pancakes because they contain multiple textures, crunchy, fluffy, etcetera, in opposition to pancakes which don't have the same crunch as waffles!"

He grinned at me, grabbing one and poured way too much syrup on the breakfast, effectively taking away any crunchiness it could've had. 

"That should be illegal." I said, frowning at the drowned breakfast food. "Truly, there is something wrong with you if you use that much syrup on one pancake. How do you stay in such good shape?"

"Don't judge my waffle habits! You're the one with fake maple syrup!" He accused, a big smiled on his face as he took a bite. "You are a grown man who buys Log Cabin?"

"Now who's judging," I laughed, taking the syrup away from him. "At least save some for me."

We settled in a bit, no more accusations about our syrup habits, simply eating in comfortable silence. 

"Oh!" He said, jumping from his spot over to where his bag was. "I forgot, I got you a present!"

"Oh, Luke," I said. "You didn't have to! Though, I'll admit, I do have something for you." I ran to my room, grabbing the present I had gotten for him on my way home last night, wrapped neatly. 

We exchanged presents, unwrapping at the same time, and I stared in awe at the present. A complete set of Gomez Manrique's poems, all in original Spanish. "How did you know I'd like this?" I asked, giddy at the present. 

"Well, you mentioned once that your mom was a 15th century literature professor so I figured you'd like that era, and even though I can't begin to understand most poetry, I thought it was cool that it was in Spanish. Kind of like it connects us. You with the literature and me with Spanish." He explained, and I thought I'd swoon. 

He finally looked down to see what his present was and his jaw dropped. "How on Earth did you find this? I've been looking for it since its release but everywhere is always sold out!" He held the video game close to his chest. I didn't really understand what the game was, or knew that he had wanted it, I just remembered him saying he likes virtual reality video games. 

"I went to the store yesterday, and the clerk told me that I was in luck, they had one copy left."

"Spencer Reid, are you trying to make me fall in love with you?" He deadpanned, and I blushed, clearing our plates to avoid responding. 

The day went by much more relaxed than I had anticipated. We lounged on the couch until three, when JJ FaceTimed me. 

"Spencer, I have two boys here who want to say thank you to their Uncle for their very special presents!" She said, pulling the boys onto her lap. Even with the blurry image I could see their smiles clearly. Luke sat next to me, not quite in the frame. 

"Uncle Spencer!" Michael lisped, having just lost his front teeth. "When do I get to see you again, it's been forever!" He drew out his words, affectively over exaggerating. 

"Forever?" I asked, smile big on my cheeks. I missed the boys, it'd been a long time since I saw them. "Well then I guess I'll have to get over there soon! I don't wanna keep my two favorite boys waiting. Did you like your presents?"

"Yes!" Henry piped up, jumping into frame. "Mom said I can work on my construction legos today but she wants me to wait until you can help me to start the Death Star!"

"Aw, thanks mom!" I joked, and she laughed. 

"Boys, don't you have something you want to say to your Uncle?"

"Merry Christmas! Thanks for the gifts, Uncle Spencer!" Their voices came out in unison, and I felt Luke laughing next to me. 

"Of course! What are Uncles for if not for spoiling their favorite kids in the world?"

Next to me Luke sneezed loudly, three times in a row, shocking me. 

"Jesus," I startled. "Bless you!"

"Spencer, I thought you were alone for Christmas this year?"

Luke leaned his head onto my shoulder, getting into frame. "I couldn't let the resident BAU genius spend his Christmas alone!" He said. "So, of course, I canceled all of my extreme Christmas plans and dropped everything to be with the good Doctor."

I glared at him, "Don't listen to him," I laughed. "He didn't have any plans either, so we planned to do dinner together."

"Spence, it's 3 in the afternoon, when do you eat dinner?"

Now Luke laughed, explaining the situation to her. 

A notification popped up on my phone, stating I only had 10% battery left. I must've fallen asleep last night before plugging it in. 

"What's wrong?" JJ asked, seeing my confused face. 

"Low battery,"

"Oh, no! I don't want to hang up yet. Luke go to Spence's bedroom and in his bedside table drawer there's a charger, go get it please."

As soon as he was gone, JJ leaned close to the screen. "Tell me if he comes back." She whispered. "Are you on a date right now?"

"JJ! No! Luke doesn't have feelings for me, besides, what kind of first date happens on Christmas morning and me drawing a gun on him?"

"Okay, I will need a full explanation on this later, but as of right now, I will just say that you have had plenty weirder dates in the past."

I heard footsteps coming from the hallway. "He's coming back!" I hissed, and she leaned away from the screen, making it seem entirely normal that we were sitting in silence.

"Your drawer is a mess, too many things in there." He said, and I blushed, remembering everything that's in there.

"Oh-oh, yeah, um, thanks for grabbing the charger." I said, glaring at the screen when I realized JJ knew what was in my bedside table, she set me up!

She fought back laughs, but we kept the conversation going for nearly an hour, the boys happy to see me and JJ happy to see I wasn't alone. When we finally hung up, when Will called for them to come get cookies that had finished baking, there was a large smile plastered on my face. 

"Sorry about the interruption," I said. "I haven't seen the boys in a long time, and I used to see them every week before prison."

"Hey," He said cooly. "You don't have to apologize. They seem like great kids, and they obviously worship you."

I smiled, but didn't say anything. I turned on the tv, handing Luke the remote to choose something, preferably Christmas-y, and he turned on some cheesy Netflix movie I had never heard of. We settled in, under blankets with hot cocoa, to enjoy a mindless romcom. 

Halfway through the movie he turned to me, confused. "Why do they always make up fake European countries and then give them all British accents? Surely not everyone from Europe has the same accent."

"It's because their primary consumer or these movies are Americans and we often find the British accent foreign enough to know they are different from us, but also familiar enough to not upset. They can't make all these movies and say they're in England because they often revolve around royalty and they can't really go around, essentially spreading rumors, about the royal family. Thus, they make up a country so there are no legal claims against their characters who are royal, but the accent is familiar to us in a way that makes the movie comforting but distant enough that we can view it as a fake reality."

Luke just nodded, leaning closer to me while we finished the movie. He laid his head on my shoulder, the second time he'd done that today, and I felt his leg against mine. It felt nice, having physical contact with someone I liked, even if it was just in a platonic sense, I knew he didn't like me. 

"Okay, well that was one of the worst movies I've ever seen!" He said, clapping his hands together once when the credits rolled. "And now, I'm starving. Let's order dinner."

"The movie could've been worse," I defended it, despite it truly being horrible. "But yeah, order whenever you're ready, you know what I like." I said, handing him my phone. We'd opted for a place closer than our original choice, somewhere we'd gone to a few times on our lunch. 

"Yeah," He said, taking the phone. "Yeah, I do."

Our food was delivered in record time, and we set the table, not caring how informal this meal was. It was Christmas and we were going to have a semi traditional Christmas, damn it! While we ate we laughed, telling stories from the past year, his first one working with the BAU, mine filled with so much intense change, but still having good stories in between all the chaos. We went farther back too, giving stories from before we ever met, before I even worked for the Bureau, from both of our childhoods. It felt easy, to talk with him. I didn't have to worry about when I'd be cut off, because he'd never done that to me. He always just let me ramble until I'd reach the end, one time letting me go on for nearly an hour before I stopped myself. It was like with each bite of curry and laughter from old stories, a weight was lifted off my chest. 

"Hey, thank you for inviting me over today, letting me come here for the whole day." He said, looking up from his naan to make eye contact. "I know I've been with the team for a while, but I also know I'm still the newbie. I'm just glad neither of us spent Christmas alone, and I'm glad I got to spend the day with you."

I grinned at him. "For the past three years we've had cases that ended on the 24th, leaving immediately and normally arriving back to Quantico in the early hours of Christmas. The team would exchange presents then, drink some hot chocolate and spend some time together laughing after a case. Then, after an hour or two, everyone would go home to their families, and I would come here and do whatever I needed to do; Clean, work on cases, get some sleep, and that was it. I was perfectly content with my Christmas because I got to see my family for an hour or so. I was surprised we didn't have a case this year, not even realizing I'd be alone until JJ asked me what I was doing. But I'm glad that I wasn't alone, and that I got to be with you."

We finished our meal, Luke helping clean up and moved back to the sofa, putting on another horrid movie while I pulled out the book I had been gifted. 

"Will you read it to me?" He asked suddenly, pulling me closer to him by the hand. I nodded, letting him pull me until I was practically laying on top of him, one of his hands tangled in my hair as I read quietly.

* * *

"And now I've seen two of the worst movies ever, in one night!" He exclaimed when the movie ended, jarring me awake. I was still laying on him, my back to his stomach. 

I groaned, uncertain how long I'd been asleep. "How long was I out?"

"Not long, but it's getting late and the weather report says it's going to snow tonight."

"Oh." I said, quickly pulling myself up off of him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you there, literally, or keep you for too long." 

His eyes studied me for a long time before he spoke up. "I would've waken you up if I wanted to." He said. "Besides, I was thinking you know, it's getting so late and it's nearly a half hour drive, snow will probably start up before I even get half way home..."

"Do you want to stay the night?" I asked, uncertain if that's what he wanted. 

He nodded, smiling at me. "I think I'll take you up on that. This couch is rather comfortable. Do you have pajama bottoms I could borrow?"

I nodded, grabbing a pair and handing them to him, shocked to see him undress in front of me. _What a way to get friend zoned_ , I thought. 

"You should get in pajamas too," He said. "We can hunker out on the couch and watch Christmas movies, actually good ones."

I nodded dumbly, doing what he said, going to change into what I wore this morning, now with the addition of a shirt. When I got back in the living room I saw he had decided he should watch the movies sans shirt, which only made concentrating that much harder. 

"Thank you again for letting me stay and spending Christmas with you." He whispered during the movie, lips nearly brushing my ear. I nodded, swallowing hard. "I don't think I'm supposed to have favorites, but you're my favorite on the team, Spence."

I didn't know what to say, I just looked up at him and appreciated him. His face was carved like it was made of marble, but his eyes were so soft. His lips looked like a pink pillow and I wanted to see if they were as soft as they looked. 

As soon as I thought that, I began to lean back, I didn't need to ruin a friendship because I couldn't keep it in my pants!

 _What happens under the mistletoe, stays under the mistletoe._ A character on the television said before kissing her friend, soon to turn lover. 

"She's right." Luke said. Before I could ask him what he meant he continued. "What happens under the mistletoe stays there. And I have another present for you." I tried to protest, I didn't have another gift for him, but he dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out a slightly wilted mistletoe branch. He held it above us and I froze. Was this a joke? Was he going to make fun of me or record it and use it as blackmail. 

I looked into his eyes and for the first time, I saw what he was really thinking. He was asking a question, and I nodded, leaning forwards into the kiss. His lips were softer than they looked and I swooned. We stayed like that for a while, not hungrily kissing but rather doing so contentedly. My hands grazed his face and his my hips. We went until we both needed oxygen, pulling apart and panting. 

"How long?" He asked. 

"Since I got out." I answered. "You?"

"Since you went in."

I kissed him again, quick this time, then fought a yawn. 

"Are you tired?"

I nodded, despite trying not to, and he pressed a kiss to my temple. Go to sleep in your room, I'll be here when you wake up."

"Or you could come with me?" I said, watching him raise his eyebrows at my proposition. "We don't have to do anything! I'm honestly too tired to do much of anything, but I'd like the company..." He simply nodded, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my own room. 

"Merry Christmas, Spencer." He said when we lied down together. "I hope you had a good Christmas."

"I got everything I could've wanted."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this one is late!! i'm running out of prompts so if you guys could comment anything you might wanna see let me know! i want to keep this mostly fluffy, but i'll do minimal angst or smut! thanks in advanced :))


	8. Parties and Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Spencer complains about his ex going to the Bureau Christmas party, Luke offers his assistance.

58% of people admit to being involved in workplace romances and 31% of all marriages in the United States started from romantic endeavors in the office. That leaves a large, but undetermined amount of people who were apart of failed workplace relationships, due to a series of variables such as people denying being apart of them or the relationship seemingly working, before ending in divorce years later. 

Valeria, from Counter-Terrorism, and I, for example, were apart of one of those failed relationships. I don't know if I'd consider it a relationship, technically, as we were never boyfriend and girlfriend. We went on various dates for two months before we both came to realization that we wouldn't do well together. I thought we didn't click as well as we did when we first met once we got to know each other better, and she started to think Brian from IT was more interesting and more readily available to spend the night than I was. I actually didn't mind, as I said we were never official, and we split on surprisingly good terms and her and Brian got together the following month. And now they were still together, as Garcia informed me when they sent in their paperwork to let the Bureau know, and would be at the Christmas party together. Again, I didn't mind that they'd be there together, I minded that I'd be going alone. 

If it was up to me, I'd not go at all, but after I helped Garcia find more photos of teenaged Emily, she told me I'd have to go or else she'd put me on desk duty. JJ had laughed, saying I'd probably rather go on desk duty. Which was true, but then she upped it to two weeks, and I figured I could suffer one night at the Bureau Christmas party. 

"What're you thinking about?" Luke said, patting the top of my head with a case file, a bit before our lunch. 

"The Christmas party," I said, barely looking up from my desk, grabbing my jacket so we could go and grab food. "I don't want to go."

He laughed, and I smiled. It was nice hearing laughter in the office, especially his. "I doubt Emily will actually give you desk duty if you don't go, I don't think she even _can_ do that."

"She can't, not for a valid reason, but she'll find one way or another to get back at me if I don't go."

We took everyone's orders, often being the designated delivery men for lunch time. If we went out, we were expected to bring food for the team too. I didn't mind, though, we got to spend time going out and talking, and the team took turns paying. 

"So, why don't you really want to go to the party?"

"I'm not a social person. I don't want to try and communicate with people I've never met and probably won't see again. I don't make good first impressions and I don't want people I don't even know to only be able to think about my awkwardness because I didn't give them time to force them into becoming my friend like I did with you."

He laughed loudly, driving with one hand and gave me a friendly shove. "You do make good first impressions, at least you did with me." _That's because you were hot._ "Besides, isn't it even better that you probably won't see any of them again? Then it doesn't matter if you make a good or bad impression, because they'll never see you again."

"Yes, but they'll know who I am, then. I don't want people to know me. It's stressful."

"You teach college! Are those kids not scary as hell? They're mean. And you take down serial killers on a regular basis. Besides, you meet so many people on our cases, and you do just fine with being known by them. Tell me why you actually don't want to go."

I frowned. Being friends with profilers was a pain in the ass. I crossed my arms, and felt like a child when Luke laughed at me, further prompting me to explain. "I had a thing with this girl from Counter-Terrorism for a couple of months a while back, but we broke it off because I didn't think we were clicking anymore and she started falling with a guy from IT. I don't care about breaking it off, or the fact that she started dating another guy, but I know they're gonna be at the party together and I don't want to go alone."

He looked over to me while we were at a red light. "I didn't know you dated anyone."

"We didn't technically date, just went on some dates. It was casual but it didn't work out, obviously. I think my attention was elsewhere."

"Who was it?"

I scrunched up my nose, unsure why he cared about that part. "Valeria from Counter-Terrorism. We met through a case but, that doesn't matter. I just don't want to go to the party alone, and it's tomorrow night. I can't really find a date that fast. It normally takes months for people to get used to me, let alone agree to go on a date with me!"

"Why don't you take me?" He asked it like he was asking for the weather, and my face turned red. I stared at him, wondering if he was asking me on a date? He noticed my silence and continued. "I'll pretend to be your boyfriend, that way I can help you through conversations with strangers, and if we happen to run into Valeria, who is obviously an idiot for thinking she found someone better than you, you won't be alone."

"Luke, are you sure about this? You how the Bureau has handled gay people in the past. That's not something people will forget, that's something we'll have to explain for quite some time, especially seeing as we're on the same team."

"Well, seeing as we never interact with people outside of the BAU, I don't see a problem. We can explain it to the team after the holidays, they won't ask any questions if we just arrive together and tell everyone we're together. I'm comfortable with it if you are."

I hesitated, but eventually nodded, not trusting my voice. He smiled at me and we got our food, ready to go back to the office.

* * *

The next night I stood in front of my closet, no idea what I should wear. Luke hadn't said what he would wear, but if we were going together I figured I should match. What if he was wearing an orange tie and I wore a green one? Those colors entirely clashed. I checked my phone and saw a text from Luke, saying he was on his way to pick me up. I groaned, not knowing what to do. Eventually I called him, and he picked up on the first ring. 

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine! I just didn't know what to wear..." I trailed off, realizing what a stupid thing to call over, especially when he'd be here in mere minutes. 

"You'll look fine whatever you wear! Hell, you could probably wear the suit you wore to work and no one would be the wiser."

"But we're going as a couple, we have to match or else it will look weird. Garcia got all in my head about 'couple culture' when she learned I was going with someone."

"You told her we were going together?"

"Not really, she asked if I wanted to go with her and Sam so I told her I had a date, and now she's been all over me trying to figure out who it is."

He laughed, and I could practically see him shaking his head. "Okay, I am pulling into your parking lot right now, I'll come up there and help you figure out what to wear so we can be sure that we are the cutest couple around." Before I could say anything, the phone clicked and a minute later I heard a knock on my door. 

I called for him to come in, and I felt my heart rate accelerate. He was somehow casual and formal, wearing slacks and a red button-up with a blazer over it. At the top of his head was a cute Santa hat, and there was one in his hand. 

"Merry Christmas!" He smiled. "You really shouldn't leave your door unlocked, you're a federal agent you know it's dangerous."

"It's the 20th, and I'm a federal agent, I can handle my door being unlocked for ten minutes while I wait for my date to get here." I countered, and he rolled his eyes but marched over to me, grabbing my wrist and bringing me to the closet, ready to pick out an outfit. 

"Okay, if you want to match I think you should wear these pants, this blazer, and this shirt." He quickly grabbed items from my closet and dresser. I looked over what he had gathered and shrugged, it seemed to match. Dark slacks and blazer with a dark green shirt to match his red shirt, effectively turning us into a Christmas thematic. He stood there while I changed, looking down at his hands. When I dressed I went to my bedside table and grabbed two rings that I had been given as a gift years ago. I'd only worn them once or twice, but it felt like they'd complete the look. I passed one over to Luke and he slipped it on his finger, twisting it around. 

"Do you have any black or grey socks?" He asked, and I laughed. 

"Luke Alvez, you should know me better than that." I opened my sock drawer and he laughed, going through all my brightly colored socks. 

"Okay, how about we go for these?" He asked, pulling out a pair of dark green socks with Santa hats on them, a present from JJ last year. 

"Did you just suggest that I wear matching socks? Do you want me to die?" I asked, and he just put one back, grabbing a red one with Christmas trees and handing the socks to me. 

"So is there any reason why you think matching socks will kill you?"

"They're bad luck!" I said, pulling him out to my kitchen. "The last time I wore matching socks I broke my ankle, and the time before then I got the hell beat out of me by some bullies. Wearing matching socks is like begging for something bad to happen."

He looked like he wanted to say something, then changed his mind. "Well, here's hoping everything goes well tonight, thanks to your mismatched socks." He smiled, placing the Santa hat on my head and bringing us to the party. 

* * *

The short walk from the car to the building had me shivering, leaning into Luke's arm. The building was crowded and warm, there were so many people and the air felt recycled. My chest constricted and I already wanted to leave, but I took a deep breath, letting Luke lead me to where there was a table of champagne. He grabbed me a glass, but refrained from drinking himself. I didn't often drink when I wasn't with friends, but so many strangers made me anxious enough to have a glass. 

"Let's mingle, let people see us as a couple. Start some rumors." He wiggled his eyebrows at me and I couldn't help but smile, letting him guide me around the floor, stopping and having conversations with people we had worked with before on short cases, not really knowing them but knowing them enough that we were obligated to say hi and ask how their kids were. 

People who had met me before knew of my aversion to shaking hands, coupling that with my eccentric personality it wasn't easy to forget, so I saw the gears turning in their heads when they saw how close Luke and I stood before seeing us holding hands, leading them to the realization and trying to hide their reactions. It was amusing, and I couldn't remember why I had been hesitant to accepting his offer of being my fake boyfriend. 

We took a few more rounds around the room, Christmas music distant in the background over the loud noise of conversing. We found the team, staying together in a group to avoid socializing with other units. I was more than glad to see some familiar faces and I dragged Luke with me over to them, him protesting that we hadn't said hi to enough people yet. I ignored him, bouncing up to the team. 

"Spencer!" JJ shouted, being the first one to see me. "Oh, and Luke! I didn't know you guys were carpooling." She smiled, holding Will's hand and squeezing my arm with her free hand. She looked us up and down and saw us holding hands, and I saw her smile knowingly. That was not the reaction I was expecting. I looked to Luke and he looked just as confused as I. 

When I looked to the rest of the team I saw that they all had the same smile as JJ, not even mentioning the hand holding or matching outfits and Santa hats. It was almost like they expected us to come together. 

"Hey, amorcito," He said, sticking to the nickname he had planned to use earlier. "I'm gonna grab you a refill." He squeezed my hand and walked out, leaving me with the team. Immediately JJ grabbed my wrist and pulled me away, saying something to Will and the team. 

"When were you going to tell me!" She asked, a big grin on her face. 

"What-"

"I mean, I'm not surprised, I've seen the way you two look at each other, and with those arms he has I don't know how it took you this long, but I'm just surprised you two didn't tell us before coming to the Bureau party! But, I'm so happy for you guys! It was only a matter of time you finally got together, it really took you so long." She smiled again, giving me a big hug before Luke came up, handing me a drink, and she sent me a wink and walked back to the team. 

"Time for another round?" He asked, and I sighed, already tired of the interaction. 

"As long as this is our last round, then can we just sit with the team?"

He nodded, kissing the side of my head and I tensed, not knowing he was going to go that far with our fake dating. Not that it was far in general, but for two supposed friends it was. He didn't seem to notice, and happily brought me along to say hi to who we hadn't yet. We spoke to some groups I had worked with, some Luke had worked with, and some we had both worked with recently on cases. The night was hitting a lull and we sat down at a table together, resting my head on his shoulder, taking a breather before rejoining the team. 

"Spencer? Is that you?" I heard a voice call out to me and I remembered it as Valeria's. I gave Luke a pointed look and he seemed to understand, both of us straightening up before turning to where the voice came. 

"Valeria!" I said, smiling. "You look great! And Brian, it's great to see you again."

He gave me a tightlipped smile and seemed to suddenly find his shoes very interesting. 

"And who is this?" She asked, extending her hand towards Luke. 

"Luke Alvez, I work with Spence in the BAU." He said, shaking her hand. 

"Valeria Amari, Counter-Terrorism," She pulled her hand back, placing it on Brian's chest. Her nails were done nicely and she was wearing a gold bracelet, likely one he got for her. I put kept holding Luke's hand, snaking one around his bicep as well, partially for my own satisfaction as well as trying to emphasize our relationship. "Oh, my god! Spencer! I guess congratulations are in order for you two!" She reached out for my left hand, which I gave her reluctantly, confused as to what was going on. 

_The rings!_ I realized, we had both slipped them on not thinking about it, inadvertently placing them on our left ring fingers. 

"These are so nice, aren't they, Brian?" She cooed, reaching for Luke's hand as well. "Okay, well I won't keep you two lovebirds any longer, but we should catch up Spencer, I'd love to hear the story sometime!" And she pulled Brian away, leaving as fast as she had appeared. 

"Should we maybe move the rings to different fingers? Or take them off?" I asked, twisting it on my finger. 

"Didn't you say she was a bit of a gossip?" He replied, grabbing my hand to look at the ring. "Half the people here probably already know. Besides, I think you should wear rings more often. You have nice hands."

I hoped I wasn't blushing. "Let's go back to the team, talk to them for a while, then leave. I didn't realize so many people would be here."

He nodded, letting me lean into him as my energy depleted from so much interaction, as we heading back to where the team had found a sitting area, saving two spots for us. We sat down wordlessly while they all stared at us, leaning in. 

"So?" Garcia asked, a cheek splitting grin on her face, bouncing in her seat. "Tell us everything!"

"We have nothing to say," Luke smiled, which was technically true. Garcia looked like she was going to argue, but Emily interrupted her. 

"Let them have their privacy, besides you can just hack into their phones later tonight and then relay the information to us." She winked at us, obviously joking but Penelope was not when she nodded in agreement. "We are all so happy for you two, it took you long enough. _But_ , I will need to talk to the both of you in my office on Monday morning. Normally I'd let the paperwork slide but seeing as you've so publicly announced it I need to do it or the Director will have my ass."

We just nodded, not bothering to explain it yet. We would just tell Emily when we went in for our meeting on Monday, and she could relay it to the team. I cuddled into a ball on the couch we shared, despite my tall stature, leaning against Luke and placing my hand on his chest. I could've fallen asleep right then, even with all the chatter. 

"Holy shit," Matt's deep voice startled me, my eyes shooting open. "You're engaged?" He nearly yelled, causing the rest of the team to lean in, looking at the rings on our fingers. I swore inwardly, we did not think about this enough. 

"Uh, surprise?" Luke said, shrugging, and I couldn't help it, the whole situation was so ridiculous and I was so tired I couldn't help but laugh loudly. 

"I thought you guys were better profilers than this," I said, deciding to go along with it, having some fun for the night. "How do you not realize two of your teammates are in a committed relationship for a year, we live together!"

"Really, at first I thought it was because you assumed we were straight, but even after we were out to the whole team you still didn't put it together!" Luke said, going along with me in convincing the team that the signs had been in front of us the whole time. 

They all looked at one another, confused as to how they really hadn't realized it. "We knew you two liked each other," Tara said, and I choked on my champagne. Had I been that obvious? "But we figured your behavior would change when you finally got together, but I suppose the honeymoon phase lasts forever sometimes." She smiled, lightly pushing Luke's shoulder while he turned to look me in the eyes. I looked away, laying my head on his shoulder.

"I suppose we also thought you two would partake in a little PDA from time to time," JJ mentioned. "You're both pretty affectionate guys."

"No, I'm not," I frowned, confused. 

"Spence, you give me a hug nearly everyday and you're always putting your hand on everyone's shoulders or leaning into touch. Your love language is physical touch, 100%."

I blushed, realizing she was true, and nearly huddled closer into Luke before realizing it would just prove her point. 

"Well, we weren't necessarily hiding it but we also were at work. There's time for PDA and it's not when we're on the clock." Luke said easily. "And now that we're off the clock I'm allowed to hold him." He smiled, pulling me impossibly closer and kissing my cheek. I blushed, and my stomach got a weird feeling I wasn't used to. 

"Oh, you two are just too cute!" Garcia smiled, and so did the rest of the team. 

"I'm glad you two are happy and together, and engaged! I am waiting for an invitation. And I know I have hosted weddings in the past at the Palazzo di Rossi, so if you need a venue..." He trailed off, and we smiled at him. I started to feel a little guilty, the story going much further than I had expected when I first started going along with it.

"Tell us about your firsts?" Garcia said and Luke looked shocked.

"Penelope!" He exclaimed.

"Oh, cool it, Newbie! I don't mean first time sleeping together, I mean the other firsts. Dates, kisses, holidays, you know! I know I won't hear about the other first until I get Boy Wonder over there drunk." 

"You're gonna have to get me drunk to tell you about any of the other firsts." I said, closing my eyes when I leaned against Luke's chest, finally settling down. "If I fall asleep wake me," I whispered to him and he nodded, running his hand through my hair. 

"Oh, come on, no kiss goodnight?" Rossi teased, and I sighed, sitting up and pulling Luke into a kiss without thought. He went tense for a moment, before relaxing quickly, his grip tightening in my hair slightly and his lips parting. I started to sit up, wanting to deepen the kiss, before I realized where we were and what we were doing and I pulled back, immediately reverting to my position and pretending to fall asleep in order to avoid looking at everyone. Surprisingly, Luke didn't remove his hand from my hair, and continued to pat it while I relaxed. 

We only continued that for twenty minutes before I began to fall asleep and Luke noticed me grow heavier on him, and he announced our departure, patiently waking me up and guiding me out of the party. The sudden quiet and cold from stepping outdoors woke me more, and I grew more aware of what was going on. I was still confused from my tired and tipsy state, and I let him guide me to the car, driving in silence. He walked me up to my apartment, bringing me inside. I was awake at that point, enough to get myself to my bed, but I let him come with me. 

"I liked it." I said, free of influence from champagne or sleep. "I liked the kiss."

Luke stared at me, face going through a range of emotions that I couldn't read. "You're a good kisser."

"I'm being serious." 

"So am I. You're a good kisser."

"I didn't like the kiss because you were good at it, I liked the kiss because it was you!"

"I know, Spencer. I realized it when the team talked about the way we looked at each other. When they weren't shocked that we were together, not even shocked when they thought we were engaged."

"So? Is that all you're gonna say? You're not even gonna reject me or what?"

"Spencer, I'm not rejecting you. I told you I liked the kiss, I held your hand all night, hugged you, played with your hair, I kissed you back, I was the one to offer to be your date to the party. You're a profiler, Spencer, tell me what that all means."

I swallowed hard, twisting the ring on my finger. He stood at a slant, leaning into my space, hand on the table to be closer. His pupils were large, but with the darkness of my apartment that could easily be them reacting to the lack of light and not a burst of chemicals in response to attraction. "You liked the kiss, and you let me get well into your personal space, which isn't something you typically do with others. The team said we looked at each other like we adored each other, and you confirmed it when you said, 'I realized it when the team talked about the way we looked at each other.' You didn't argue it or turn it one-sided, only having me look at you some type of way. You were agreeing, saying we both do it."

"You've confirmed it, now what're you going to do about it?"

"I-" I started to speak my thoughts, but thought I could never get them all out. He was moving closer to me at an almost unnoticeable rate, and I felt like if I waited a second longer I'd explode. I pushed myself forwards much to fast a pace, pressing our lips together. We repeated the movements we had gone through at the party, in almost the exact same way, before he pulled back. 

"Let's not go too far," He said, leaning out foreheads against each other. "You've had some drinks."

"I'm a 6'1" man who had three glasses of champagne. I'm not drunk. But you're right," I added reluctantly. "You could still stay the night though. Talk about how exactly we're going to explain this to Emily on Monday?"

He grinned, pulling me into another kiss. "Does your brain ever turn off? Not that I don't love it, but I can think we can discuss Emily tomorrow."

"That's what Lila said to me every time I interrupted something with a fact," I said, laughing a bit.

"Who's Lila?" He asked, leaning back a bit. 

"We can talk about that first another time." I said, pulling the Santa hat over his eyes and bringing him to the bedroom. 


	9. Christmas Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer is not a morning person, even if his adorable boyfriend wants him to wake up before the sun to open presents.

The first time I woke up, I had the feeling someone was watching me, something I had grown used to since Luke and I moved in together. Roxy was sweet, but I was beginning to think she didn't trust me based on the way she watched me relentlessly. I closed my eyes shut tight for a second, scrunching up my face, before my eyes slowly fluttered open, expecting to see Roxy at the edge of the bed, begging for pats or treats. Instead I found Luke, wide awake and watching me while I slept, face shadowed in the dark. 

"Good morning, amorcito." He smiled, voice low in the morning. Morning. It was still dark outside, no light streaming through our curtains. It was December in Virginia, the sun rose around 7:15. 

"There is no way you are trying to wake me up before seven in the morning, Luke Alvez." I groaned, closing my eyes again. 

"But it's Christmas!" He protested, lightly shaking me to keep me awake. 

"What time is it? It's still dark outside."

He mumbled something under his breath, and I asked him to repeat himself. "... It's five."

"In the morning?" I nearly shouted. "Luke, I do not care if it's Christmas, my birthday, your birthday, or our wedding day, never wake me up at five in the morning unless you need me."

"I do need you! I need you to come to the tree with me so we can open presents!"

"Luke," I warned, and he relented. 

"Okay! Okay, go back to sleep, amorcito. I'll wake you later."

"If you wake me up again, especially before the sun is up," I said, giving him a kiss and forcing him to cuddle me back to sleep. "I will let Roxy take your spot in our bed. Permanently." I heard him start to protest as I easily fell back asleep. 

* * *

The second time I woke up Luke was shaking my shoulder slightly, whispering my name. 

"Luke, I meant what I said about Roxy." I groaned, turning away from him. 

"But, the sun is up!" He said, and I nodded. Our room was lighter than it had been prior. "You said not to wake you up before the sun was up."

"I said not to wake me up again in general, _especially_ before the sun is up. What time is it now?"

"7:30..."

I groaned, shoving my face into his chest. "Just let me sleep, Luke, I thought you loved me."

"I do! I just also love Christmas."

"Wake me up at ten." I said, already drooling on his chest, but not caring. 

* * *

The third time I woke up I was reaching in the bed to find Luke, but found a furry limb instead, tail wagging and tongue licking my hand before I shrieked, pulling away. I still hadn't gotten used to the invasiveness of a dogs tongue. 

"Oh, Roxy!" I complained, wiping my hand on my pants while she happily scooted closer to me, resting her head on my chest. I took a moment to wake up. The sun was obviously out fully, light streaming through curtains and when I glanced at the alarm clock on my bedside table I frowned, it was 10:23. I told Luke to wake me at 10, and now he wasn't in bed but it was past ten. "Luke?" I called, and noticed the smell. It smelt like french toast and strawberries, and I got hungry thinking about it. 

"Just a minute!" I heard him yell before a bit of clatter came from the kitchen. The bedroom door shot open and Luke came in, a grin on his face and a plate on his hand. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, darling," I smiled, eagerly watching him as he kicked the dog off of the bed and placed the plate on my lap while I sat up. "This smells amazing."

"Oh, stop, you'll give me a big head. Just some french toast."

I took a big bite and smiled, whipped cream falling down my chin a bit and Luke laughed, wiping it clean for me. I fed him a bite and he smiled. "You know what," He said. "You were right. Keep complimenting me. Give me a big head. I deserve it."

I snorted, shaking my head and taking back the plate. "I'm sorry if I was an ass this morning, I guess I don't think much when I'm tired."

"Don't worry about it, I know you aren't a morning person. I think if you would've gotten up the first time I woke you, you wouldn't really have been there anyways. Not mentally, so it's worth waiting to open presents and be together if it means you can fully be there."

"I love you," I said, mouth full of strawberries and whipped cream. "You're sweet."

"Almost as sweet as you when you wake up after ten." He smiled, taking another bit of my food. 

He let me finish the rest, only taking few minutes for me to finish, before he begged me to come and open presents. 

"Just give me a minute to finish waking up, in case you forgot I had disturbed sleep." I joked, poking his chest and he frowned. 

"Because of that, you don't get extra time to wake up." He said matter-of-factly, standing slowly before reaching over and picking me up, throwing me over his shoulder fireman style. 

"Luke Alvez!" I shouted, wiggling as he brought me out to our tree. "I am a grown man, how do you have this strength!" I heard him laugh and I added, "Seriously, I'm taller than you what the hell?" 

He spun me around once more before setting me on the ground, a small fort made up of blankets set up that I assumed he did before he made breakfast. 

"Coffee?" He asked, and I nodded, a necessity such as coffee was always appreciated. He got up, messing in our kitchen, and came back with two steaming mugs that were topped with a dollop of whipped cream. 

"You treat me too well," I said, taking a long drink. It wasn't normal coffee, it was chocolatey and had a peppermint sort of flavor. "Oh, you really treat me too well!"

He laughed, leaning over to give me a sticky whipped cream kiss. "This is what my mom and dad drank every Christmas morning, coffee but instead of milk or sugar you add a hot chocolate packet and a candy cane."

"It's great," I said, taking another drink. I noticed him staring at me, practically vibrating where he sat, eager to open presents. I thought about finishing my whole drink, letting him sit there until he voiced the want to open presents, but he seemed to lean in with anticipation, waiting for me to realize. I couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, do you want to open your presents?"

"Yes!" He said, immediately grabbing presents and sorting them out, a small pile for each of us. We had a few presents from members of the team, telling us to wait to open them till Christmas morning, as we did for them too. "Okay, open yours first!"

I laughed at his childishness, but searched through the pile until I found one from him, a small box wrapped neatly in black and gold wrapping paper. "Is this one good?" I asked, and he nodded, moving to sit closer. I opened it carefully, not wanting a mess of wrapping paper to litter our floor. When I opened the present I gasped slightly. A new watch, a leather band with a silver lined face and a bright white backing. "It's so beautiful," I said, leaning over to hug the man next to me. 

"Turn it over!" He said, giddy about getting me a good present. I did so, finding an inscription on the back.

_Aere Perennius_ , meaning 'more lasting than bronze.'

"Luke, this is so beautiful and sweet, thank you so much!" I put it on immediately, tightening the band over my sleeve. He smiled, looking proud of himself, and gave me a kiss. He tasted like chocolate and peppermint. "Okay, open mine!" I shoved a present towards him. 

He seemed surprised at my sudden enthusiasm, testing the heavy weight of the box. He opened it with much less couth than I, tearing at the wrapping paper and leaving small bits around him that I eyed uneasily. I watched carefully as he opened the box, revealing a large leather bound book inside. He looked confused for a moment, no title on the cover to reveal what was in it, until he opened it, seeing what it really was. 

He flipped through the pages with a grin on his face, fingers trailing along the photos I had carefully chosen of us, alone and with the team, since we met. Inscriptions littered the pages with my messy handwriting and there were other things with the photos as well, movie stubs and playbills, pressed flowers from dates and fortunes from Chinese takeout. I had only filled the album about halfway, wanting to leave space for future memories. 

"Spencer," He breathed. "This is amazing, this must've taken you forever!"

"Three consecutive hours to gather the photos and objects, but only about two hours to plan and put the photos in chronological order along with date memorabilia, give or take." I smiled, and he laughed, pulling me closer to him. I curled up on his lap while we looked through photos, remembering first dates and old memories. 

"This is perfect, Spence, thank you." He kissed the side of my head and I leaned into his grasp, appreciating the small act of affection. 

We went through the remaining presents, books, some clothes we had picked out for each other, framed photos, house decor. We called individual members of the team, thanking them for their presents and getting thanked for what we had gifted. Michael and Henry were particularly excited from their joint gift, a _Star Wars_ Lego set, and they demanded I come over soon to help them build it. I agreed, of course, and thanked them for their present, a mug with a picture of the three of us that said, 'Uncle Spencer's Mug' in bold print. 

Afterwards Luke and I settled on the couch, Roxy laying atop us, to watch some Christmas movies. He insisted we start with 'Home Alone' and agreed, happy to watch anything with him. As the movie started I cuddled in closer, pressing a few soft pecks to his jaw. 

"I am sorry I was short this morning when you tried to wake me," I said, and he tried to assure me it was okay before I cut him off, continuing. "But just know that if you try to wake me up before five for anything less than life threatening, I will have Roxy permanently take your place in our bed. Even if it is Christmas."


	10. Ice Skating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke takes Spencer iceskating and disaster follows.

Winter is the worst season, not statistically but subjectively. Autumn is the best, seeing how Halloween occurs in the peak of fall, spring was more boring than anything else, and summer was the second worse season, the heat making it hard to wear what I wanted. Summer was suffocating with the heat, but winter was choking cold. I hated the dry skin and chapped lips, slipping on ice and the feeling of snow melting on the back of my neck. Cold winds nipped at my nose and chilled directly into my bones until I couldn't feel my fingers or toes. I fully believed winter was the worst season, and Luke was determined to make me believe otherwise. 

He stood in front of me, coat, gloves, and hat already on with mine in his arms, shoving towards me. "Hurry up and get ready, we have to go now if we want to avoid all the extra people!" He chided. 

"I don't see why we're going at all, Luke," I whined. "I hate the cold, and being in large groups, and I can barely walk in general, let alone on two blades under my feet!"

"You don't walk with ice-skates, you glide. Besides, we're going because you love me and last week we went to the foreign film I didn't understand so this week we're going iceskating!" He shoved the outerwear to me, signaling the quarrel was over, and I relented. I did it slowly, over exaggerating my movements like a child and Luke laughed at me, grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door, rushing to the car. As soon as we left our building I shivered, wrapping the scarf tighter around my neck and pulling the hat over my ears to block out the cold. Small snowflakes fell to the ground, melting when they landed on us. I knew my hat would soon have the uncomfortable feeling of wet wool and I frowned. I turned the heat on full blast in the car, hovering close to the vents despite the fact that the air was not yet warm. My nose was already red with cold and I scrunched up my face, trying to conserve warmth. 

I took Luke's free hand and tried to shove it into the glove with my own to keep warm and he laughed, "Take off your glove, it's not big enough for both of our hands."

I did what he said, letting him grasp my hand and transfer heat. I don't know how, but the man was like a space heater, always radiating warmth. "I'll even buy you a hot coffee to stay warm when we get there."

"You owe me at least that." I grumbled. 

* * *

Luke had been right about getting to the rink early, we had barely gotten there after open and there were already so many people. Children skated more gracefully than I could walk, old couples used walkers on the ice, teenagers skated in groups, holding each other steady. Luke and I had abandoned our gloves in the car, the heat at full blast, and I liked the warmth from his hand on mine, leaving the gloves on purpose. I wrapped my hands around his arm, holding him close in the frosty atmosphere. There were concessions with crappy coffee and cocoa, soft pretzels, pizza slices, anything and everything that was warm or greasy. Luke bought me a hot chocolate and a pretzel, sitting with my while I drew out the food, trying to avoid the ice. 

"Spencer." Luke finally said, eyebrows raised and giving me a pointed stare when I took another tiny bite. "We both know you could've finished that ten minutes ago. Either eat up or give it to me so we can get on the ice. The sooner we go the sooner we can leave."

I glared, but ripped the, now cold, pretzel in two, handing him half. He chewed quickly while I tried to nurse it, but gave in, shoving the rest in my mouth before letting him take my hands, guiding me to the ice.

I took blocky steps, trying to balance on the blades while Luke straightened on the ice. I leaned against the barrier and watched Luke begin to glide on the ice, smiling as he went around the circle, moving gracefully. I didn't expect him to be so comfortable on skates, watching as he sped up, reaching me again. He grabbed my hands, pulling me out and I almost immediately tripped. I cursed under my breath and felt my face go red not just from the cold. He helped me up, knees hurting from my fall, and put one hand on my cheek. 

"You okay, amorcito?" 

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I don't know who thought balancing on two blades on slippery ice would be a good thing, but I would like to talk to them."

"Tell me about the history of ice skating." He said, skating backwards so he could be a guide in front of me, pulling me along on the skates. "I know you've gotta have some information on it in that big brain of yours."

"Skates used to be made out of animal bones! They didn't make the transition to metal blades until the 13th century." I said, entirely aware that he was trying to distract me, but it helped nonetheless. I let him pull me over the ice, legs shaking but not falling yet again. "And in 1961 the entire U.S team were killed in a plane crash while en route to a competition in Prague."

"How many members were killed?"

"The team was eighteen members but they had sixteen people accompanying them as well as 39 other passengers, all of which died."

"Okay, we get enough death at work. Tell me some fun facts."

I smiled, he was right, and he was still asking for facts even after my morbidity. "Figure skating began in the 1850s when skaters started to attempt jumps and spins while in their skates on the ice, and skaters who are 150 pounds or more can land with up to 100 pounds of force on the ice!" In my excitement I moved too quickly, falling down on my knees. "Shit, ow!" I landed with a heavy thud and despite the cold seeping through my pants, I got the urge to just stay there, telling Luke to go on without me and that I'd see him in another lifetime. Especially when I heard him laughing from above me. 

"I'm sorry!" He said, still laughing. "It's not funny, you just looked so discouraged it was laughable!"

"Wow, thank you so much loving boyfriend of mine. Ice-skating is hard! And it's so cold!"

"Probably because you're sitting on ice right now." He amended, helping me up. I winced when I felt my knee buckle, letting Luke take the brunt of my weight. We had only made it halfway around the rink and I'd already fallen twice. "Do you want more coffee?"

"No, let's finished this circle and then I'll get some and maybe sit out a round. I messed up my knee."

"The one you got shot in?"

"No, the one that's perfectly normal-yes the one I was shot in!" I said, sounding angry but laughter peeped out despite me trying to control it, and Luke joined in. He held me close and guided us along the ice, letting me lean my weight on him to ensure I wouldn't fall again. I barely moved my feet, staring intently at them to ensure I could catch myself if I were to fall again. We finished our circle and I didn't bother to find a bench, just falling to the ground to take off the skates and put my shoes back on. 

"I'm sorry, darling, I can't go another round." I slumped against the barrier. "I'm gonna get more coffee and sit out, let you get some practice in."

"No, it's not fun without you. Let's go out, get some good coffee, and walk around to look at the lights."

"Are you sure? You looked like you were having fun out there. If you just give me some time I'll go another circle with you?"

"No," He smiled, leaning down to where I was sitting to kiss the crown of my head. "You already fell down twice and hurt your bad knee. Let's go." 

I nodded gratefully, going as fast as I could to leave the cold building. We ran out to the car, snow melting on my hair and I marveled at it. Even living here as long as I had, I still wasn't used to snow. I didn't like the way it felt, but it was beautiful in the air. 

"I am glad we finally found something I'm better at than you are." He smiled, one hand on my thigh as he drove. "I thought it'd never happen."

"Shut up," I mumbled, but smiled. "I never even saw snow until I was 20 and came to the Academy. It was horrible. I thought 40 degrees was cold!"

Luke laughed, shaking his head. "You wouldn't survive a day in the Bronx."

"Well, there's another thing you're better at than me, withstanding extreme temperatures."

"Says the man who shot a 100. I think one of those things is more useful in our line of work." He grinned, giving me a quick squeeze and pulling over to the coffee shop. He ran in, letting my knee rest, and got our coffees.

While I sipped the sweet drink I felt Luke staring at me. "You're also more handsome than me."

My ears burned and I looked over at him. "You're the only one who thinks that, darling, but thank you."

He gave me a sad smile and leaned over to give me a kiss, he tasted like coffee and caramel. "What do I have to do to make you like winter?"

"I'm afraid that will never happen," I sighed. "It's cold, snow is wet and uncomfortable, and you wear too many layers."

"Well, let's go back to the apartment so you're out of the wet snow, take off our layers, and maybe I can warm you up?"

I snorted, "Your attempt at seduction is admirable, but I don't think my knee is going to allow that. _But_ , maybe winter can move from fourth to third in terms of seasons if we get home and watch the _Doctor Who_ Christmas special?"

He laughed back at me, giving me yet another kiss, "Whatever makes you happy, amorcito."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this really isn't very good but I'm running out of inspiration so if anyone has an ideas/winter/christmas ralvez things they want to see let me know!!! i'll write anything at this point


	11. Hotel Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer and Luke spend Christmas evening in a hotel when a case runs long, but they don't let it dampen the mood.

Wisconsin winters were bitter, evident based on the cold wind biting at my neck and turning me into a personified Rudolph, nose bright red. We had been in a small suburb of Milwaukee for just over weeks, making breaks in the case but none big enough to lead us to the unsub. The team and I were running on minimal sleep, spending most of our time in the police precinct, barely even going to our hotel rooms, in which we had to double up in. Cases around the holidays typically caused hotels to overbook, it was something we were used to. Emily handed out the keys to pairs, handing one to me and Luke, saying something about us being such good friends, giving us a wink. The team knew of our relationship, it wasn't something we tried to hide, we just couldn't officially state that we were together to the Bureau. One or both of us would be transferred, and the FBI didn't have a good track record with LGBT individuals. But it barely mattered, we had only spent six nights in the hotel rooms, otherwise taking power naps in the precinct between leads. 

The local officers watched us carefully, giving us all the resources and help they could spare. Their precinct was tiny and underfunded, and their couches, I had noticed, were not good for joint pain. When Luke woke me up around 5 o'clock one night, just after sundown, I was confused. I had just fallen asleep, and we agreed to let each other sleep for at least an hour before waking the other up for the case. 

"Wha-what's going on?" I groaned, sitting up slowly and squinting at the harsh LED lights. 

"Officers are telling us we have to back to the hotel tonight. Said they don't want to see us until at least noon tomorrow."

"While we're looking for a serial killer? What did Emily say?" 

He just shrugged, helping me up and putting his jacket over my shoulders. It enveloped me in his scent and I smiled drowsily, leaning into his embrace. He drove home while I rambled mindlessly about the case, going over theories, suspects, victimology, and MO, not getting any further than I was at the precinct. That was probably why the police sent us to rest, we weren't any good being as sleep deprived as we were. 

I watched the other SUVs pull up to the hotel, seeing everyone slump out of the cars, not bothering to speak to each other before going up to our rooms. We trudged up the steps, only being on the second floor, and threw ourselves onto the bed. I undressed while laying down, shrugging off the layers I was wearing and shimmying out of my pants, leaving me in just my boxers. I felt something soft land on top of my chest and realized Luke had tossed a pair of pajama bottoms onto me and I thanked him, pulling them onto my ankles and lifting my hips to get them fully on. 

"Will you hand me my phone?" I asked. I could feel the weight in the bed shift as he leisurely looked for my phone, putting it in my hand and giving me a kiss on the cheek. I leaned closer instinctively. When the bright light glared at me from the screen, I noticed something odd. "Darling, what day did we get here?"

He laughed slightly, "Are you telling me you don't remember? Does the eidetic memory go into hiding when you're tired?"

"We got here on the seventh, right?" He nodded in confirmation. "The how the hell is it Christmas already?"

"It's Christmas?" He asked, jumping up on the bed. I nodded, turning my phone so he could read the date on it. "Spencer! Get up! We have to decorate!"

He grabbed my hands, pulling me to my feet and ran into the bathroom. I heard him rummaging around before he came out, holding a toilet paper roll in each hand, a grin on his face. "This will be our tinsel," He said, setting it on the bed. "And I will be right back with the other decorations!" He said, running out of the room. I stood silently, wondering what was going on before I laughed, picking up the toilet paper he had set down. I found some tape in the bedside table and I hung it around the doorframes, moving it around to create a twirled effect. I turned on the lamps in the room and turned off the main light, creating what I figured was a festive atmosphere. I sat on the bed, waiting for Luke to come back. 

It took him nearly ten minutes before he came back, skin flushed red with cold and snow melting in his hair. He had a twig in his hand, green pine needles looking lively, and he had his other hand hidden behind his back. "This will be our mistletoe," He smiled, walking over to me and putting it above us and looking expectantly at me until I leaned down and gave him a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his back, embracing his warmth, when a sudden ball of cold his my neck, running down my bare back. 

I yelped, jumping back from Luke to see him laughing at me. I glared and he walked closer to me, but I moved back. "I cannot believe I gave you a kiss and this is how you repay me! You couldn't even do it when I was wearing a shirt? And to think I hung up our toilet paper tinsel!"

"I'm sorry, amorcito, I just couldn't give up that opportunity! You told me you'd never been in a snowball fight because you grew up in the desert. I was just giving you some life experiences."

"That was not a snowball fight, that was a snowball homicide. I had no ability to retaliate." I crossed my arms, and Luke grinned. He held up the mistletoe again, peppering kisses on my face until I gave in.

He brought me to the bed, laying down and pulling me until him to bring us closer, and turned on the television. He roamed through channels until he found a yule fire, kissing my neck and pretending the television brought warmth, holding his hands out to it. 

"I'm sorry we have to spend Christmas while on a case. All of your presents are at home, I didn't even finish wrapping them." I said, and I felt him shrug beneath me. 

"All of yours are home too, I didn't wrap any of them yet and I was still going to get you another one. I didn't even realize we were close to Christmas!"

"Wait, let me up." I wormed my way out of grasp, telling him to close his eyes while I grabbed a pen, paper, and my go bag. I quickly scribbled on different pieces of paper, sticking them to random objects before I told him to open his eyes. 

He did so, looking confused at the scene in front of him. There were five things on the bed in between us, my glasses case, my contacts case, my phone, his phone, and one of my sweaters. They were all upside down so he couldn't see the paper. "Pick one!" I said, and he didn't look less confused but he pointed at my sweater. I flipped it over to reveal the paper I had written on. "Video game," I translated my messy handwriting, and he looked helpless. 

"I'm lost, help me out here?"

"Well, I got you a video game, and it's back home but I still want to give you presents on Christmas." I smiled, and he seemed to realize what was happening. "Okay, pick another!" He looked at the remaining objects, and I noticed how he slipped my sweater on over his broad shoulders, and I knew he would stretch it out, but I didn't say anything. He pointed to my glasses. I flipped over the paper to show my writing that said, 'Watch.' He grinned, picking up my glasses and slipping them onto my nose. I fixed them slightly and watched him point to his phone, flipping it to read 'Boxing Gym Membership.' He leaned over and kissed me, thanking me. He tried to discreetly take photos of me, and I pretended I didn't notice the way he held his phone, an obvious giveaway. We went through the next two items, a wallet and a map of the stars from when we met. He looked giddy, thanking my repeatedly despite not having any of the objects in front of him. I kept the descriptions vague on purpose, so there would still be some surprise when we could get home.

Luke rushed up, gathering odd items to place in front of me. We ended up with the same amount of presents for each other, as he'd placed five things in front of me too. Our phones, again, as well as his scarf, his wallet, and the roll of toilet paper we didn't use for decorations. We did the same thing, me picking out random items and him showing me what they were via his scribbles on the paper. He had also gotten me a new watch, which we laughed at, as well as a first edition copy of _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ , a new cardigan, a new pair of socks-two so I could mismatch them-and a new record for the record player. 

We ran to the vending machine, going fast to avoid seeing the team as I was only wearing pajama bottoms and he was wearing bottoms and one of my sweaters, and got a small feast. Our Christmas dinner consisted of potato chips, Snickers and Kit Kats, Cosmic Brownies, and trail mix. We ate while scrolling through channels, leaving the faux fire for _Home Alone_ , laughing at the eccentric nature of the film. 

"Hey," I whispered, scooting up so I was level with Luke towards the end of the movie. "This was a weird Christmas, it's our first one as a couple and I know this wasn't what either of us expected, but I think it'll be a hard one to beat." I smiled, and he reciprocated.

"Maybe we'll have to have a hotel Christmas every year?"

"As long as I'm with you," I paused, wrapping my arms around him tighter. "I couldn't care less where we are or what we do, Christmas is perfect with you." 


	12. Christmas Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer and Luke argue over the best way to decorate the Christmas tree, and it nearly ends with a call to the fire department.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is really short and not my best work. any suggestions/requests you guys have would be super helpful, tia :))

Picking out a Christmas tree was hard this year. Luke wanted a long needle fir, and I wanted a short needle pine. I argued that short needles are easier to clean up and still give the festive look. Luke said that long needle firs were pretty, like me. So, we compromised and got a long needle fir. I had to admit, they were nicer, and I was a sucker for praise, as apparent by our 'compromise.' Other than that, we had some other problems in terms of decorating the tree. 

Luke wanted a classic look, all shiny red, green, and silver ornaments with warm white Christmas lights, tinsel, and popcorn on a string. I wanted the opposite of that. Ornaments I had collected over the years from presents and old family memories. Ones commemorating births, weddings, deaths. Old pictures pasted on, things Henry had made in school and gifted me. I wouldn't be the first to admit that, all together or frankly separate too, they were ugly. But I didn't care. I loved it. The eccentric ornaments told stories from so many different lives, and they could never be replaced by plain baubles and white lights. Besides, everyone knew multicolored lights were the way to go. 

When I told him this, he suggested we compromise, and this time it wasn't based on manipulative compliments and a grin I couldn't say no to. 

"How about this, let's pick out your favorite ornaments, the ones that tell the story you're looking for as well as the ones you couldn't get rid of. Those will definitely go on the tree, and I will put up one color of mine, so it's not too chaotic, and we can go for warm white lights?"

"We can only have your lights if we don't do tinsel and popcorn." I demanded, and he sighed, but agreed.

When he nodded I grinned, setting out to pick my favorites. I ended with forty, really only sacrificing one or two and only leaving Luke with room for about twenty of his own on the tree, knowing that deep down he wouldn't mind. He suggested a compromise just so he could argue with me, if there was even just one of my eccentric ornaments it would put off his whole aesthetic for the tree, it was really just for show. I sat and watched him put lights around the tree, and I helped him put up the ornaments, smiling at old memories and telling Luke stories about specific baubles. 

"Henry gave me this one when he was in 4k." I smiled, holding up a picture of the blonde boy from when he was just four. "He told me that he spent all day working on it and JJ said he insisted that I come home with her that night so I could get it then and he could see my reaction."

Luke smiled, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. "You're a good godfather." He said, secretly admiring the tree when we finished decorating it. He would never admit it, but I could tell he liked the chaos. "Henry's lucky to have you."

I just smiled, pecking his cheek before pulling him to the couch, Roxy jumping up onto our laps. We sat there for barely a moment before Luke sat up quickly, running off into the other room while yelling something about forgetting a decoration. He came back in holding a box, and I distantly smelt some artificial fragrance. He leaned the box so I could see, and there were around twenty white candles, about four inches tall and half an inch in diameter. 

"Luke," I began, sitting up. "My love, you don't want to put candles, and light them, on fire, in our, very flammable, tree, do you?" 

He just smiled and nodded at me. "Yes, yes I do. And we will."

"Absolutely not! Darling, honey, sweetheart, you are going to start a fire. We aren't even allowed to light candles in this apartment, when did you buy those?"

"I've had them! We used to put candles in our tree when I was a kid."

"I love that you have a tradition you want to share, but I want to share my life with you past the 25th and we can't do that if we die in a fire caused by putting an open flame to a tree."

He frowned, but seemed to agree with what I was saying. "Okay, how about we just put them in the tree and don't light them?"

I nodded, going to help him with that. We quickly arranged the candles, Luke insistent on setting them up evenly across the tree, avoiding any already placed ornaments. We sat back after we had used up all of the candles, the warm lights almost looking like a flame to complete out messy tree. 

"Amorcito," Luke said. "Will you go get the tree topper? I left it in the linen closet on the top shelf." 

I ran across the apartment to find the topper, but I wasn't able to find it. The closet was very organized, bottom shelves containing sheets, middle shelf had towels and pillow cases, and top shelf was where we kept decorations. There was a box of our Halloween decorations, but the tree topper was no where to be found. I was about to yell to Luke, asking if he was sure that's where it was, when I heard a small shriek from across the apartment. 

I ran back to the living room and found Luke, standing in front of the tree, face glowing orange from a growing flame in our long needled fir. 

"Luke!" I yelled, running to the kitchen for water, putting the fire out before it could grow any more. "I thought we said we weren't going to put fire in our flammable tree?"

"I thought lighting one wouldn't hurt anyone..." He said, scrunching up his nose when he smelt the smoke. I worried our fire alarm would go off. I watched as he poked at the dead needles, the surrounding area blackened. Luckily the fire hadn't hit any special ornaments, but it did take a considerable amount of our tree out, leaving behind an unpleasant smell. Taking it all in, I couldn't help but laugh. I sat down on the couch and cackled at how ridiculous this is. 

Luke looked at me, shocked, before stifling his own laughs and sitting down next to me. We just laughed for what felt like hours, Roxy staring up at us and cocking her head at the unpleasant scent that lingered in the room. 

"Well, that's one way to start out Christmas season." Luke finally said, when our laughs had died down. 

"Maybe we'll burn our tree every year. It can be our Alvez-Reid tradition." I said, opening a window to let out some of the smoke. 

He looked over at me, and I didn't say anything despite feeling his inquisitive gaze. 

"Yes?" I asked. 

He gave me a pointed stare. "I know you want to say it, this is the last time this year I'll let you do it. Use it wisely." He said, nudging me slightly. 

I moved quickly so I was facing him, and he jumped back slightly at the sudden movement. "I told you so!" I yelled, gesturing to the burnt tree, and he just laughed, pulling me close again and turning us so we could admire the mess of a tree together. 


	13. My Hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer is sleepy from wrapping so many presents on Christmas Eve, and just wants to spend time with Luke.

Luke couldn't help but laugh at the pitiful scene in front of him. Spencer was sat in front of the fire place, shirtless wearing plaid pajama bottoms and mismatched socks, an array of presents, wrapping paper, crumpled tape, and a pair of scissors surrounding him. His eyes fluttered shut every few seconds, before he'd jump a bit, opening them wide again only to repeat the motions once more. Luke admired his boyfriend, a pretty picture displayed for him. The flames cast a warm glow on Spencer's pale skin, and the heat created a thin sheen of sweat over his body. The pajama pants made him look particularly festive, especially with the presents around him, and he the multicolored Christmas lights from their tree shone onto his eyes, making them look like they held the stars, something Luke would believe if Spencer hadn't corrected him on it many times before. 

"Hey, Spence," He whispered, finally disturbing the scene in front of him. Spencer's face scrunched, and he stretched his legs unconsciously, joints cracking when he moved. "How about we go to bed?"

"No," Spencer yawned. "I have to finish wrapping Henry, Michael, and Hank's presents. We're seeing them tomorrow night." He moved to grab the scissors, which Luke swiftly took out of his hands, placing them out of the man's reach. 

"Let's take a break then, and we can finish wrapping in a bit?" Luke said, knowing damn well Spencer would fall asleep and he'd have to finish the wrapping, much to his dismay. Spencer wrapped beautifully, making it look like a printed pattern on the box rather than paper taped onto the box. Luke made it look like it belonged with the ripped wrapping paper in the trash. "Where do you wanna go?"

Spencer just put his hands up, and Luke grabbed a hold of them, pulling him to his feet and guiding him to the couch. "Let's watch a movie, then we can get back to wrapping." Luke said and Spencer nodded, aware he was about to fall asleep but helpless to do anything about it. When he was tired he just trusted Luke to handle him. If it was up to him he'd fall asleep wherever he wanted, but Luke told him he wasn't allowed to sleep on a park bench for multiple reasons. Luke sat down first, pulling Spencer on top of him. "What do you want to watch?" He asked, and Spencer shrugged. 

"Somethin' good." He mumbled, nuzzling into Luke's chest. "I'm cold, put your arms around me."

"You're cold because you aren't wearing a shirt. Where'd it go?"

He gestured off randomly, not knowing where he put the shirt. "I was hot by the fireplace so I took it off." He explained, and Luke shook his head, laughing, and pulled him closer to give him warmth. He mumbled something into the man's chest, eyes fluttering open and shut again. 

"What, baby?" Luke asked and he tilted his head up so Luke could see him. Spencer's stubble scraped against his chest in the best way possible and his hazel eyes had such a hard time staying open. He licked his lips and swallowed, trying to prepare himself to speak but being so tired it wasn't entirely working. He was beautiful. 

"Play with m'hair." He demanded, eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Luke laughed but obliged, bringing a hand up to run it through his hair. He gently took the tangles out of his curly hair, grabbing a few strands and attempting to braid it, but only succeeded in knotting it. He set to undo it and felt Spencer relax above me. He got heavier on Luke's chest as he relaxed and began to fall asleep. Luke massaged his scalp and listened to him sigh happily. He was too easy to please, sometimes. 

When the man noticed soft snores from his chest he took his hand away from his head, ready to bring him to the bedroom, when a displeased noise came from Spencer, trying to nuzzle further into his boyfriend's chest. Luke chuckled, staying where they were and putting his hand back to Spencer's head. The repetitive movements made him drowsy, surrounded by the smell of Spencer's shampoo and cologne, he felt himself lull to sleep along with the younger man. 

It was hours later when he woke, feeling Spencer tap lightly on his chest until he stirred, slowly opening his eyes. Spencer was above him, eyes still reflecting Christmas lights and breathing slow, he was still half asleep along with Luke. 

"What happened?" He asked, head cocked to the side slightly. Luke thought he couldn't look prettier. 

"You demanded I play with your hair until we both fell asleep on the couch. You wouldn't let me bring you to the bedroom." He groaned, stretching as well as he could underneath the other man. 

"I should do that more often." He laughed, looking down at his watch. He squinted, lacking his glasses or contacts, it took him a moment to understand what the face said. "Hey, guess what?" He said, tapping Luke's cheek to get his attention. 

"What?"

"Merry Christmas!" He grinned and it took Luke a moment before he understood. They had slept until nearly five, getting about seven hours of sleep. 

"Merry Christmas, amorcito." He whispered, pulling Spencer in for a kiss, never happier than he was at that moment. 


	14. Candy Canes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer is mad that Luke took his favorite sweater. He commits to revenge that is poorly misinterpreted by Luke.

Working with your partner is a wonderful thing, most of the time. Luke and I got to ride in together, go home together. We shared hotel rooms on cases when everyone else complained about missing their significant others, while we snuck into our room for some alone time. There were also some bad things about working with your boyfriend. For example, when Luke wakes me up almost an hour early, insisting we go get coffee before work, and conveniently not mentioning that my favorite sweater is not actually missing, but rather on his body, which I didn't notice because I was so tired from him waking me up early. 

I didn't notice that he had on my sweater, the one I had asked him to help me look for, until we got to work. My mood had perked up a little with some coffee in my system, a small smile on my face when Luke and I walked hand in hand to the bullpen. We made small talk with JJ and Emily at our desks and I noticed Emily eyeing Luke's shirt, but thought nothing of it. 

"I thought _Reid_ normally borrowed _your_ sweaters?" Emily said, a small smirk on her face. 

I didn't have time to ask what she meant when he spoke up. "Damnit, Emily, I was trying to see how long it would take him to notice!"

I looked over to him, eyes raking over his body when my jaw dropped. "Lucas Elian Alvez! I looked for that sweater for _ten minutes_ this morning, asking you if you knew where it was!"

"Okay, in my defense, I thought you were a better profile that this!" He said, struggling to hold back laughter. I swatted at his shoulder, frustrated that his stupid, muscular arms were probably stretching out my favorite sweater. "And my name isn't even Lucas, you know that."

"Well, I needed to sound angry and Luke wasn't doing it for me!"

"It was last night," He said with a pointed stare and I groaned, stalking off to my desk while I heard him laughing with JJ and Emily. I glared at him while I put my stuff down, going to Penelope's office. 

"Garcia?" I called, and she spun around in her chair, smiling when she saw me. 

"Spencer!" She cried, offering a bowl of candy canes to me. I took one, promptly sticking half of it in my mouth and frowning. "What's got ya feeling down, mon ami?" She asked, seeing my foul mood. 

"Luke." Was all I said, and she smiled devilishly. 

"Oh, my love, I love it when you speak my language. Lucky for you, making fun of your boyfriend is my favorite thing to do so I am _so_ here for this! What'd Newbie do?"

"He woke me up this morning an hour early!"

"Ooh, that's like a sin in your world. It would be like if someone touched my computer without asking." She pointed out and I nodded. 

"Exactly!" I said, then hesitated. "It _was_ kind of nice though, he woke me up so we could spend time together before work."

"No! Bad Spencer! Tell me statistics about loosing sleep so you get angry at him again." She swatted me on the head with a file and I pulled back, laughing slightly at her hatred for Luke. 

"Studies _have_ proven that if you lose even one hour of sleep it can take up to four days for you to make up the lost rest. I'm gonna be grumpy for the next four days because he wanted company! That's what Roxy's for!" I said, remembering what I had come in here for. "And besides that, I spent ten minutes looking for my favorite sweater this morning, you know the green one I got last year for Christmas from Emily, and I asked for his help to find it and he said he had no idea where it was."

"Okay, I want to be mad at him, but I'm not following."

"He was wearing it! He wore it to work! I didn't even notice because I was so tired, and then he had the audacity to make a joke about my profiling skills and then our sex life in front of JJ and Emily!"

She snorted, then saw my glare directed to her. "Sorry, it's totally not funny."

"Penelope," I glared, and she put her hands up in defense. 

"Okay, you have to admit it's a little funny."

"I came in here because I thought you would like to complain about Luke with me, but I am feeling like maybe I won't tell you about the embarrassing thing he did last night when we went to bed?" The embarrassing thing in question was actually just him talking in his sleep, repeating statistics I had rambled about during dinner, which I recorded as soon as I figured out how to do so, but if I phrased it the way I did she would think I was going to tell her about my sex life, which would never happen, but it would get her to relent. 

"Why didn't you start with that?" She said, rolling her chair closer to me. I pulled the candy cane out of my mouth, revealing the dangerously sharp end, and her eyes got wide. "Oh, my god, 187, I have the perfect idea!" She pulled me closer, sliding two wrapped candy canes into my pocket and whispered quietly, as though Luke would hear her. But as she spoke, I found her idea actually rather humorous. 

* * *

(Luke's point of view)

I watched Spencer walk out of Penelope's office, confident steps as he came to his desk. He didn't look at me, despite the fact that I knew he felt my stare. He almost broke when I snapped my fingers, trying to make the sound alert him enough to look up, but he didn't. He walked the long way, past my desk and dropped a piece of paper on top of my files. I didn't pick it up, just watched as he strolled around to his desk, sat across from mine. 

I raised my eyebrows, asking a silent question. He nodded slightly, telling me to read the note. I opened it and it only had two words, nearly illegible in his scribbled handwriting. I frowned when I deciphered it. 

_Watch me_

I looked back up, planning to ask Spencer what he meant, but immediately realized what he was doing. He had one of those damned candy canes Garcia had been giving him lately. I couldn't tell if they were better or worse than the suckers, but she insisted she just couldn't give out suckers during the Holiday season. 

It was already unwrapped, and when I looked up he wasn't looking at me, sucking on the length of the candy cane. I almost laughed, it was ridiculous, but also enthralling. It was a comically large candy cane, and I was sure Garcia had gotten them with the sole purpose of having Spencer mess with me, as I was sure that's also why she was always giving him suckers. 

He was leaned over, under the guise of working on a case, but I knew it was for show when he looked up at me through his eyelashes. I gave him a pointed stare, looking around to see if anyone was watching, but the work day had started. We were all completing paper work until a case came in. He smiled at me, very enthusiastically licking the candy cane in a way that made my pants tighten. I couldn't believe I was getting turned on from watching Spencer eat a fucking candy cane. I felt like a teenager and I flushed dark red when he pulled it out of his mouth, letting spit trail from it like he was giving it a fucking blow job. _Jesus Christ,_ I thought, _this man is going to be the death of me._

"Luke," He said suddenly, masterfully hiding the candy cane and wiping away spit with a napkin I knew he had for that sole reason. "Are you feeling okay, Darling? You look flushed? Are you coming down with something?" He spoke loud enough for team members to look over and I knocked a file onto my lap, just in case the desk wasn't doing enough to hide my problem. Spencer grinned when he noticed me covering my lap. 

"Yeah, you're really red, Alvez." Matt said, walking past my desk. He put a hand to my forehead before I could duck away, and I scooted under my desk as much as I could. "You feel warm. Spencer, come over here and tell me if you think he has a fever." 

Spencer grinned, licking his lips. He stood and sauntered over to me, not in a way that the team would notice but in a way that I definitely did. He placed the back of his hand to my forehead and I leaned into his touch. 

"Hmm, you feel a little warm. Let me check..." He leaned forwards, pressing his lips to my forehead, placing one of his hands subtly on my thigh and I had to stop a groan from coming out. "You're in trouble for taking my sweater," He whispered before pulling away, looking confused. "You don't feel terribly warm, I'd guess about a 99, so technically a low-grade fever. I'll get you some Tylenol in case it heightens." He smiled sweetly at me, leaning over to rummage in my go-bag and I nearly passed out. 

I looked around and saw the team eyeing each other for a moment before going back to their cases. It wasn't often Spencer showed any PDA in the office, and they weren't used to seeing this caring side of him. I was used to it, but I wasn't used to him giving a candy cane a blow job and then showing his ass to me while I hid an erection. He took his time looking for the medicine before popping two out of the bottle, handing them to me before 'checking my forehead' one more time and going back to his desk. I swear I had heart palpitations. 

As soon as he sat back down he deep throated the candy cane, not a hard feat but nonetheless one that didn't help my predicament. I grabbed the note he had written to me and scribbled on the back, _You suck_ before crumpling it and throwing it at him. 

He looked offended when the ball of paper hit him, momentarily pulling him out of his seductress state, before realizing it was me who was throwing things at him, not some unknown bully. He glared at me, opening the note. I watched him snicker, pulling out a pen and writing just below my chicken-scratch. 

He tossed it back and I swallowed hard when I read his note. 

_Just not the things you want._

I spent the next five minutes trying to get his attention, kicking him from under our desk and tossing paper to him, but he dodged all my attempts of getting his attention. I finally gave up and figured the candy cane was almost gone, it's allure was fading and soon so would my problem. 

He looked up at me, grinning devilishly, as he pulled out another candy cane, slowly unwrapping it before sticking nearly the whole thing in his mouth. 

"Do you even like peppermint that much?" I whispered loudly and he bit back a laugh, not answering my question. I turned down to my paperwork, realizing I had done next to nothing, and tried to focus on that. 

It worked for about three minutes until I felt him kick me under the desk, startling me. I looked up, prepared to reprimand him after all his teasing, when he nodded towards the kitchen and put up two fingers, signaling for me to wait two minutes. He got up, grabbing his coffee cup and walked to the kitchen, and I saw him turn back and attempt a wink. I laughed at that, we both knew he couldn't wink to save his life. 

I tapped my leg, counting to exactly two minutes before getting up, nearly running to the kitchen. If anyone looked up they would find it suspicious. I had left my coffee cup on my desk and had a full water bottle sitting there as well. I carried a file to hold in front of my jeans. It wouldn't take a profiler to wonder why I would follow my boyfriend into the kitchen after he had spend the better part of twenty minutes sucking on a candy cane. 

When I walked in he was sitting on the counter, making slight conversation with someone I didn't know but recognized from IT. He looked uncomfortable and so did she, neither of them wanting to be apart of the conversation but for different reasons. She saw me and, despite not knowing me, sent me a look that I read easily. He saw me and perked up, seeming to forget the incessant teasing he had put me through. I held a file in front of my crotch and reached my hand out to the IT woman. 

"SSA Luke Alvez, I see you've met my boyfriend, Spencer. You are?" I asked, and she turned red. When I walked in she had given me a look that very obviously read _Get me out of here_ , and now I had told her the person she so very much did not want to talk to was my boyfriend. 

"Agent Alicia Landon. Nice to meet you." She shook my hand and made a quick excuse to leave. 

I turned to Spencer and raised my eyebrows. "Well, she sucked."

He grinned. "Me too." He said, pulling me closer, not bothering to see if anyone was nearby. He had the candy cane in one hand, sharpened to a point that would've felt threatening if it wasn't a piece of sugar. His lips and tongue were red from the artificial dye and he smelt strongly of peppermint. He kissed me and I tasted it too, smiling into the kiss despite the anger I had been feeling about his teasing. 

He pulled away too quickly and I groaned, but also thought it was best. I was supposed to be trying to get rid of my problem, not make it grow. 

But, Spencer didn't seem to agree as he began lazily pressing kisses along my cheeks and neck, occasionally coming back to my lips. 

"You know," He said in between kisses, still gripping the candy cane in one hand. "There was a case in 2013 of a woman stabbing a man's eye out with a sharpened candy cane because he annoyed her."

"I love it when you tell me facts," I said, and he laughed. Even at the morbidity I was intrigued. 

"I know you do." He said, kissing the spot beneath my ear. "Candy canes were first made with hooks in the 1670s in Germany. They didn't come to the US until nearly 200 years later, being brought from a German immigrant."

"You're dirty talk is improving." I joked, and he pulled back to glare at me, before continuing his sticky kisses. I would have to get a wet paper towel to wipe off the sticky residue he was leaving behind from the candy. 

"Shut up." He said, and I did. "54% of people suck on candy canes," He whispered in my ear and I found it worrying that I thought his words were arousing. If he wasn't careful I'd become sapiosexual. "But, 24% of people _bite_ them." Okay, I found that less arousing. Until he nibbled on my ear lobe, in which case I didn't mind if he was telling me serial killer statistics, I'd still find it attractive. 

"Amorcito," I said, beginning to pull away. "We're at work."

"And you already have a problem," He said, using the candy cane to gesture between us. "Have you ever heard of Lorena Bobbit?" He asked, his voice not quite seductive anymore, but now more factual. I found it enthralling nonetheless. 

"The name says familiar," I began, and he trailed the sharp end of the candy cane down my neck in a way that I should've found more threatening than erotic, but alas. I swallowed hard. "Who is she?"

He had a devilish grin on his face, quickly pulling the candy away and leaving it to hover near his mouth. He leaned in and whispered in my ear, "She was in an abusive relationship and one night, while her abuser was asleep, she cut off his penis with a knife." I felt the sharp end of the candy poke my face before I heard it crunch loudly in his mouth. 

My thighs clenched together in fear, and I felt my erection going away. He didn't pull away. "If you ever take my favorite sweater again, or wake me up early without already having coffee ready, or tell our friends about our sex life to make jokes, _I will crush you_." 


	15. Spencer's Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer loves many things, he's not even sure if he has room for another, until he meets someone new while Christmas shopping.

I had room in my heart to love many things. Reading, teaching, learning. Helping others, being with my team, jello. At the top of the list though, miles above anything else, was my daughter, Alvina, Alvie for short. The moment I laid eyes on that beautiful baby girl I thought there was no reason in the world to be sad. 

Her mother's past was complicated, and she passed away before Alvie was even a month old. I was devastated, and took so long to begin healing, but eventually I understood that, in one way or another, she was in a better place. Heaven, reincarnation, her soul leaving, or simply her bones being buried to rest, I didn't know what happened after death. All I knew was that Alvie needed me, I had to be both parents now, and I was determined to do so. Five years later, it was hard to remember a time without her. 

"Alright, Alvina," I said, picking up the little girl and tossing her in the air before catching her, holding her on my hip. "Where to next?" 

She stared at the Christmas displays in storefronts, lampposts decorated with lights and Santa's. "I'm hungry, Daddy, can we eat?" She asked, laying her head on my chest. 

I nodded, walking down the busy street, looking in store fronts for a restaurant. We, or rather I, walked for ten minutes before finding a child-friendly place. It was bumbling with chatter, patrons sitting at every table and I was concerned about the wait time. Alvina had already been complaining about her stomach for the past ten minutes, so I didn't want to have to wait, but I didn't know where the next child friendly place would be. 

A hostess came up to me, long hair in a high ponytail, a string of Christmas lights around her neck as a necklace. She smiled wide, but her eyes were tired and I wondered how long she'd been working without a break. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Uh, will there be a wait for a table for two?" I asked, gesturing to the child in my arms. 

She frowned, but then perked up. "Holidays are a surprisingly busy time for us. If you want to sit with just you two there will be a thirty minute wait, but if you want to sit at a 'communal' table, then there will be no wait. Those are just our tables where people can be seated immediately. Think of it as a 'Last Supper' type of table." She smiled. "There's only one other patron at the table right now, and people don't often choose to sit there, if that helps?"

I looked down at Alvie in my arms and she looked hungry. "Please, daddy?" She whined, letting her head loll back in dramatics. I laughed quietly and nodded, letting the hostess guide us to the table.

She was right when she said it was like _The_ _Last Supper_ , very long with chairs all along the length. I thanked her when she sat us, giving us menus and telling us a server would be with us in a minute. I sat Alvie down on my left side, a man on my right. He seemed friendly, but people often do. Besides not wanting to seat my daughter next to a stranger, I also didn't want to force him to sit next to a five year old who was about to go to town on a cheeseburger or chicken tenders. The man was tall, dark curly hair with broad shoulders. I suspected he was Latino, but he easily could've been any other unknown ethnicity. He was very handsome, I thought, but didn't let my mind linger. I was just here to refuel before me and Alvina continued with our Christmas shopping. Besides, no one wants to date a single dad, and single dads didn't have the time anyways. 

"Daddy?"

"Yes, sweet pea?" I asked, looking down at her where she tugged on my sleeve for attention. 

"What's that man's name?"

I heard a small laugh come from next to me where the handsome man sat, and I bit back a smile. 

"I don't know, baby, do you want me to ask?"

She frowned. "I don't know." She said, moving back to her menu. I looked over to the man and saw he was glancing at me too. I shrugged, as if to say _Kids, am I right?_

I looked through my menu and suddenly felt conscious of the fact that I'd be eating in front of the man. He had a glass of water in front of him, but no food and a menu, so he couldn't have gotten here much earlier than we did. I wondered what he'd be eating. 

"Hey, sweet pea, do you know what you want?" I asked, noticing she had stopped looking and decided to move onto coloring her menu instead, currently working on the maze to help the fries find the ketchup. 

"Chicken tenders and a strawberry milkshake." She said confidently, despite the fact that knew I nearly never let her have dessert with dinner. And milkshakes had to be considered dessert, or else she'd have them with every meal. 

"A milkshake?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. She looked up and me and smiled wide, showing her missing front teeth. I squeezed my eyes shut, showing her I would give in if she smiled at me like that. She knew it, I couldn't say no to her. She leaned onto my chest and I sighed. "Alright, you win this time. But no cookies when we get home. Those are for Christmas."

She grinned, knowing she would get cookies when we got home, and went back to her coloring. 

The waiter came up to us, wearing a Santa hat and a very fake smile. The restaurant hadn't died down at all since we got here, if anything the chatter had grown louder. 

"Alright, folks, I'm Hunter, I'll be your server tonight. Can I start some drinks for you two?" He asked, noting that the man next to me already had a drink, and that he wasn't in our conversation, therefore he was a different part of this communal table. 

"Yes, please. I will have a water, and she will have a strawberry milkshake."

"Perfect, and do you need an extra minute with the menus?"

I looked at the menu and closed it, fuck it if there was a hot guy next to me, I was getting whatever I wanted and I was going to enjoy it. "No, we'll order now. She will have chicken tenders with fruit on the side," She tugged on my sleeve and whispered something in my ear. "Oh! And ranch, please. And I'll have the double cheeseburger."

"And do you want fries, chips, or wedges with that?"

I knew Alvina was going to want to steal my fries. "Fries please, with another side of ranch." I sighed. Maybe one day she'd grow out of dipping everything in ranch. Today was not that day. 

"Perfect," He said, finishing writing before flipping to a different page and turning to the man. "And for you sir?"

"Uh, I'll have the same as him, actually." He smiled, glancing over at me. I felt my stomach turn, feeling oddly nervous over eating the same food as him? I needed to get out more. 

The waiter nodded, leaving to put our orders in and Alvina showed me how she finished the maze with only one mishap. 

"Good job, baby!" I said, and she smiled her semi-toothless smile. "You know," I said, picking up a crayon she wasn't using. "I see that there's a game of tic tac toe that needs to be played, and it just so happens I have never lost a game."

Somehow, miraculously, Alvie beat me, shocking me to no end while I heard both her and the mystery man giggle, for different reasons. She laughed at beating her father, and he laughed at me letting her win without her realizing it. 

Our drinks were placed in front of us and I had to restrain Alvie from sucking it down in one gulp, holding it away from her when she looked like she was running out of oxygen. "Easy there, sweet pea, save some room for dinner." I chided, and she frowned but didn't protest when I pulled the cup away from her. She crossed her arms before her eyes got wide and she put her head in her hands. 

"Brain freeze, daddy!" She cried, and I had to bite my tongue to prevent laughter. 

"Remember what I told you, baby? Press your tongue to the roof of your mouth."

She did what I said, looking confused when her head stopped hurting but didn't say anything besides giving me a suspicious look. One time she told me she thought I was a witch, and though I thought I convinced her otherwise sometimes the thought seems to creep back in her space. Her cautious gaze on me shifted just beyond me and her face relaxed. 

"My name is Alvina, and this is my daddy." She said suddenly, sticking out her small hand for the man next to it to shake. I turned over to him and gave him approval to shake her hand. 

"Well, it is very nice to meet you, Alvina, that's a wonderful name. I'm Luke Alvez." He gave her hand a little shake, and I laughed at the size difference of their hands. "Hello to you, daddy." He grinned, turning to me and I choked on my water. 

"Spencer Reid is fine, for now." I said, offering my hand to shake, before realizing what that sounded like. "Oh! I didn't mean that, I just-"

The waiter took that moment to come bring our food and if I ever believed in a higher power it was at that moment. 

"Daddy, why are you so red? You look like a tomato!"

"Um, I'm just warm, baby." I said, feeling Luke stare at me and I knew I turned even redder. I ignored the stare, putting a small serving of fries onto Alvie's plate, instructing her to eat some fruit before eating the fries. 

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Luke whispered, taking a fry off his plate, looking apologetic. 

"No! You didn't, I just, I don't even know," It wasn't like I could tell him I was nervous because he was very attractive and I was a single dad out with my daughter. "I guess I'm not used to talking to coworkers or five year olds." I laughed, and he nodded, understanding. 

"Tell me about that."

"What?"

"Tell me about your coworkers? What do you do?"

"I teach," I said, neglecting to mention that I was also FBI agent, first and foremost. "College. I teach a few different classes on psychology, profiling, victimology, etcetera." 

He took a bite of his burger, covering his mouth while he chewed, and I did the same. "Interesting, you must be quite smart."

"He is!" Alvie cut in, smiling big. I wiped ranch off of the corner of her mouth. "My daddy is a genius, my Auntie JJ and Auntie Penelope said so! They said he's a smart ass."

"Alvina!" I cried, flushing red. "That's a grownup word, please don't use that kind of language." I had to hide a laugh, and noticed Luke doing the same thing. It wasn't right, but there was something so funny about hearing curse words out of children's mouths. 

"Sorry," She shrugged, very obviously not sorry. I'd have to talk to JJ and Garcia about not using that language around her anymore, even if it was hilarious. 

"I'm sorry," I said to Luke, despite both of us finding the situation humorous. "She doesn't normally say that but I had my coworkers over earlier and she overheard them making fun of me after a bit of wine."

"No need to apologize, I understand." He said, and I cocked my head to the side. "Oh, not like that. I don't have kids, but I do have some little nieces and nephews."

I nodded in understanding, feeling almost relieved? Not that he didn't have kids, but that he wasn't in a relationship. Granted, it wasn't a guarantee, I actually _did_ have a daughter, but I wasn't in a relationship. 

"So," He said, addressing me and Alvie as she munched on her fries, avoiding her fruit. "What brings you here tonight? Daddy daughter date? Waiting for mommy at home?" He asked, and I cringed. 

"I don't have a mommy." Alvie said simply, not looking up from her french fries. 

The smile dropped off of his face so quick it would've been funny if not for the situation. 

Before he could even open his mouth to apologize I leaned in closer to him. "Her mother passed just after she was born, don't apologize, it's fine." I smiled, but he looked like he still wanted to apologize. "Miss Alvie and I are Christmas shopping," I said louder, keeping the conversation going. "What brings you out?"

It took him a moment to recover, but he did, slightly shaking his head. "Just didn't want to cook tonight, frankly." He laughed. 

"My daddy's a great cook," Alvie piped up. "You should come over and have his pancakes. They're the best in the whole world." 

I blushed, about to change the subject when Luke spoke up, smiling. "Maybe I will, sometime, if your daddy would let me."

He gave me a look that very obviously read, _Are you into men?_

"How about I give you my number and we can arrange that, sometime?" I asked, feeling confident enough to ask him despite the fact that he knew I was a single parent and he had already met my kid. I normally would never do this, especially while I was with her, but she was so enthralled in her chicken tenders and milkshake that she didn't even hear me. Even if she did, she wouldn't understand the context. 

He handed me his phone, already open to the New Contact page, and I put my number in. 

"Baby, are you full?" I asked, noticing she was pushing food around her plate but not eating. It was like suddenly I was full dad mode and Luke wasn't even there. 

"I'm tired, daddy." She yawned, and I knew our night was over. 

"Alright, baby. I'll pay and we'll be back home in no time." I said, checking my watch. It was only 6:50, but we'd been out all day, walking and shopping. 

"Can Luke come home with us? Then he can eat your pancakes tomorrow." She said, not slyly suggesting I would be making pancakes tomorrow despite them only being for special occasions. Well, special occasions and almost anytime Alvie asked for them. 

"Oh, baby, I'm sure Luke is busy-" I began, but he put a hand on my arm. 

"I'm not busy, but I also entirely understand if this is you not wanting to bring a stranger into your home with your daughter." He said, and the look in his eyes seemed genuine. 

I leaned in closer to whisper. "I'm okay with you coming back, but just know that she will expect you to stay and watch a Christmas movie with us. It's currently night 8 on our 12 days of Christmas marathon leading to the day. It doesn't matter if we have company, she will not waver on this."

The waiter came over and took my card, and Luke's. We both left a hefty tip on the table for him, and set to head out. I picked up Alvie, her legs wrapped around my chest and resting her head on my shoulder. 

"My car is about a ten minute walk that way," I nodded west, pulling the hat better over Alvie's ears. 

"I took an Uber here, do you want me to call one?" Luke asked. 

"No, I'll drive us. You'll have to get an Uber home, though, I can't leave her home alone."

He nodded and we walked together, dodging people in the still busy street, filled with wandering shoppers going from store to store. We had whispered conversations, trying not to disturb the half-asleep girl in my arms. When we got to my car I strapped her into the carseat, moving to the front. I turned on the radio and Beethoven came on. Luke raised an eyebrow at my music choice and I laughed. 

"I'll have you know classical music does wonders for developing minds, many studies have shown it boosts their concentration, self-discipline, and helps them gain a wider appreciated for other music as they age. Besides, it's this or Baby Shark. Take your pick."

"Beethoven it is," He smiled, buckling in. 

We had been driving for just over fifteen minutes, only about ten minutes away from my apartment, when I looked in the rearview mirror, confirming Alvina was asleep. 

"Listen, I wasn't 100% honest when you asked me what my job was. I _am_ a teacher," I said, and noticed his worried look. "But I'm an FBI agent first and foremost. I'm a profiler with the BAU."

"Okay?" He said, unsure probably both of why I didn't say that, and also why I was telling him this now. 

"I didn't say anything at the restaurant because it felt like a casual conversation and I didn't want to get into work, especially with Alvina listening. I try not to talk about that part of my job when she's around. And I'm telling you this now for a few reasons. First of all because my apartment has an obscene amount of locks as a safety precaution. And do you know what a profiler is?"

"Kind of..." He said, looking uncertain. 

"A profiler is someone who analyzes behavior to determine what kind of person you are. You can say one thing but your body language can say an entirely different thing. My team and I create profiles and hunt down serial killers and other disturbed individuals. I'm telling you this because thus far you have seemed entirely honest and open. Your body language implies you're an alpha male, but one who's ready to submit to a situation. You were ready to talk to my daughter when she spoke to you, but only after I gave you the okay, which means you respect me as her father. I trust you, and my profiles are never wrong. But, I've never brought someone to my home without knowing them for a while, especially while Alvina was home too. So, on the off chance my profile is wrong and you're some kind of disturbed individual, I just thought you should know that I'm an FBI agent who owns guns and will use them if necessary." I said, not looking away from the road as we turned onto the street I lived on. 

I heard a small laugh and was taken aback. That was not what I had been expecting. 

"That was amazing," Luke said, "Truly, that's fascinating. I'm a little nervous about getting shot now, but I have a feeling I'll walk away tonight unscathed seeing as I'm not a disturbed individual. Scouts honor," He grinned. 

"I didn't want to make it seem like I was threatening you unwarrantedly, but sometimes I push it to the extreme when it comes to what I love." I said, pulling into the parking garage of my apartment. "Like I said, my profiles are rarely wrong but I like you, so I figured in case it was I would give you a warning. I'd hate to have to shoot such a pretty face." I didn't wait for him to answer, going to the back of the car to extract Alvina from her car seat. She stirred, but didn't wake up.

I felt Luke watching me, noticing how quickly I jumped from threatening him, to flirting with him, to caring for my child. I didn't look back, though, just motioning with my free hand for him to follow. His footsteps fell in beat with mine and as I unlocked the locks to my apartment.

"It might be your lucky day, I think she's fast asleep. Maybe we won't have to watch _Santa Buddies_ tonight. I'll just have to watch two tomorrow," I whispered, motioning for him to sit on the couch. I brought Alvie to her bedroom, laying her down on the bed and taking off her shoes. I tucked her in and pressed a kiss on her forehead, "Sleep well, sweet pea, I love you." I turned on her nightlight and left her door open a crack, rejoining Luke on the couch. 

"Alright, she's down for probably the rest of the night. Do you drink?" I asked, and he nodded. "Red okay?" He nodded again and I got up, grabbing two glasses and a bottle of red, setting it down on the coffee table in front of the couch. I poured us each a heavy glass, neither of us were driving, after all. 

He took a sip and I noticed his eyes darting around the apartment. "You have lots of books, you much really be a smart ass." He grinned, and I blushed. 

"I swear, I almost never swear in front of her!" I defended myself, laughing slightly when he gave me a look. "I won't lie, I've definitely said some things I shouldn't have in front of her, especially while working a case or right after one, but I've done much better recently. It's my damn coworkers who have the potty mouths."

"Seems to me, Mr. Reid, that you do have a bit of a potty mouth too?" He took a drink, grinning at my slip up. 

"Doesn't count, she's in bed." I said, then decided to play a bit of a game. I turned on the television, _Home Alone_ already on the channel, filling the room with Christmas background music and imagery. "And you're wrong."

"What do you mean, I'm wrong?"

"Take a guess. I do have a bit of a potty mouth, so what are you wrong about?"

He furrowed his brow for a minute before realization was written on his face. "Professor Reid?"

"Close, but no cigar."

"Agent Reid?"

"Technically it's Supervisory Special Agent," I said, gloating a bit. I could spare to show my ego if it might impress the handsome man my daughter insisted I bring home. "But still no."

"I don't know what else it'd be. You're not Mr, not an Agent, what other prefix-Doctor! You're a doctor!"

"Well, you might just make it as a profiler after all." I grinned. "It only took me giving you three guesses and no last options."

"Ha ha," He snarked. "Would I make your team?"

"If I could pick?" I asked, pretending to hem and haw as we both leaned closer to each other. "I think you'd be at the top of my list." I put my glass on the table, and he followed suit. 

"Yeah? You'd work with me?"

"Long hours, traveling on the plane all over America to catch serial killers? I think you've got the brains and the brawn to do it. In case you didn't notice I'm not the most muscular, it'd be nice to have someone like you have my back."

"Oh, I doubt you can't handle yourself. Doctor 'I'm an FBI agent who owns guns and will use them if necessary,' I think you'd be the one to have my back. What's your score?"

"100," I said, realizing he had some military background, something I had suspected earlier. "You?"

"95. You'd be protecting me." He said, and we both leaned back on the couch, scooting closer to each other. 

"Maybe I would," I said, leaning forward to fill his glass before leaning back, into his arms. "I guess we'll never know."

"Daddy?" I heard Alvie yell from her room and I jumped up at lightening speed, rushing to her room and almost spilling wine all over. 

"Hey, what's going on baby?" I asked, sitting on the edge of her bed. "What woke you up?"

"I don't know," She said, tiny fists rubbing her eyes. "I just did!"

"Okay, well, it's around 9:30, do you think you can fall back asleep?"

She shook her head, and I knew it was semi-true. If I left her in here she would never fall back asleep, at least not for over an hour. Normally I'd bring her to my bed and lay with her, but I had company. I picked her up out of bed. 

"Luke is still here, and seeing how we never watched out Christmas movie tonight, Luke might want to watch it with us?"

She nodded sleepily, and I knew she'd fall asleep within twenty minutes of turning on the television. 

"Luke," I spoke quietly, trying to keep her in her sleep-ridden state. "Looks like someone just had to join us for that Christmas movie she was looking forwards to." I put her down on the left side of the couch, sitting in the middle as a barrier in between Alvie and Luke. "If you want to head home, that's okay, but she'll only be up for twenty minutes, then I'll put her down in her room again. She never wakes up twice in one night unless I'm on a case." 

"I'm always down to watch _Santa Buddies_ ," He grinned. 

I felt my stomach flip, and I ignored it. I turned on the movie and wrapped a blanket around Alvie, laying her head on my lap. The movie began and not ten minutes into it I felt her breathing even out and she grew heavier on my lap. 

"She's asleep," I whispered. "I'm going to let her get closer to a REM cycle before I put her down." I checked my watch, noting it was 10 o'clock on the dot. "She's already two hours into her circadian rhythm so I don't think she'll wake at all before her she enters REM even if I move her."

"Tell me more." He said, quiet to not disturb the sleeping girl. 

I tried to slow my breathing, control my body before it could start to blush. "About what?"

"Anything," He didn't have any shame when he leaned in unconsciously. "I like your voice. I like hearing new facts and statistics. I don't know how you remember them all."

"An eidetic memory helps, but I'm going to bring her to her room, then I'll tell you whatever you'd like to hear."

I picked her up gently, whispering to her to keep her asleep, and put her down. When I came back Luke was sprawled on the couch, intently watching _Santa Buddies_. 

"This was Tom Bosley's last appearance in any film before his death, you know?"

"I don't even know who that is, but I want to hear more." He said, moving over so I had space, but then placed his legs on my lap. I instinctively grabbed his legs and pulled them closer, something I did to ensure Alvie wouldn't fall when she fell asleep on the couch. It had become habit, even when instead of a five year olds legs it was a grown man's. 

"No," I said, obviously shocking him. "I told you part of my life story, you know what I do, who I am, you know my daughter. All I know is that you're a handsome adult who is, hopefully, single, and didn't want to cook tonight. Also he is worryingly trusting, coming into my home even after I threatened you with a gun."

"I've never been known for my survival instincts. Profile me." He said, not breaking eye contact. I flustered at that. 

"Profiles are rarely nice," I said. "There's an unwritten rule that we try our hardest to not profile each other or anyone in our personal life."

"You already profiled me," He pointed out. "In the car."

"That was different. That was me ensuring I wasn't compromising the safety of my daughter. Now that I know you aren't a threat to her, or me, I'd like to refrain from profiling you."

"Why don't I try?" He asked, and I raised my eyebrows. "You already said I could join your team, even if you were just trying to get in my pants, so why don't I actually try, even if I don't know the first thing about you?"

"Go for it, let's see what you've got." I smiled, prepared for what wouldn't likely be a coherent profile. It wouldn't be a profile in general, I knew, just some random assumptions put together, even with his military background. 

"Okay, so I know you're a doctor, though I don't know what in. I'll assume you aren't a medical doctor, because you work for the FBI as a profiler, so it's probably in something like psychology or sociology. You're really smart, but you aren't egotistical. You drop facts into our conversations, but only when it's relevant to the topic. You're very caring, very protective of your daughter. And her name, Alvina, meaning a wise friend, something tells me you picked that. You have quick reactions to little things, something that's often associated with PTSD, either from your childhood or working in the field."

"Okay," I prompted, noticing how as he spoke we ended up closer to each other. He pulled me down with him, and I was nearly on top of him. "So those are things you noticed about me, but what do they mean? How do they impact my behavior or what does my behavior say about how I was raised or treated in my developmental years."

"Wise friend..." He went back to her name. "Latin. I only know that because of twelve years of Catholic school. But naming her wise means you value intelligence, obviously since you're a doctor. Friend probably means something along the lines of you... having a respect for her? She's your daughter but also you treat her equal?" His voice trailed off, obviously unsure of what he was saying. I laughed a bit. 

"You're pretty good for a beginner, and you're mostly right. But we'll go more into your future career in profiling another day. Now let's just watch the movie." I said, growing tired.

He agreed, and I let myself be pulled into his arms, an oddly intimate act that I would normally never allow to happen with someone I didn't know. He wrapped his arms around my chest and I watched my hands reach up to grip his bicep, even though I couldn't remember my brain telling them to do that. We watched the movie in silence, occasionally allowing ourselves commentary or jokes about the children's movie. It ended and we didn't move as the next one stopped, even though I knew I would be rewatching it tomorrow when Alvie and I settled in for the night. 

We watched the whole movie again, and I felt both of us begin to fall asleep. I reached blindly for the remote on the table, shutting off the television and shifting so I could face Luke. 

"It's late," I sighed, my eyes struggling to stay open and I saw that Luke's were too. "I have to get Alvie up early tomorrow, I'm dropping her off at her god-mother, JJ's, house. I have to go in to work to prep my lessons for the week."

"I'll call an Uber, it shouldn't take too long for it to get here." He said, pulling out his phone. 

"Well, it's really late, and we've been drinking. If you want you could stay here? I've a guest bedroom you could stay in, if that'd make you more comfortable? I just don't want you to have to find and pay for a car so late. If you don't mind waking up early, that is, otherwise I understand." I didn't know why I was so incessant on having him stay, especially considering I just told him he'd have to sleep in the guest room. 

"What's your definition of early?"

"Later than most, around nine in the morning is when I should be out of here, a bit earlier if I drive you home, depending on where you live."

"That is considered very late, in my book. Are you sure you don't mind if I stay here tonight?"

"As long as you don't," I said. "And... you know... My bed _is_ big enough for two, if you don't want to stay in the guest room."

His eyebrows shot up, a small smile on his lips. "Oh?"

"Not that we could do anything, not really, I would never do anything with someone I just met while Alvie is home, but I wouldn't mind some company."

His smile grew and he nodded, sitting up and grabbing my hand. "I know I'm not the profiler here, but I did notice something when we came in here."

"What was that?"

He jutted his chin over to the door frame that led to the hallway my room was located in. "You decorate for Christmas. You like mistletoe." He grinned, and so did I, dragging him to where the mistletoe hung, and let him lean into me. The kiss was nice, his lips were soft and his stubble rubbed against my skin, a sensation I hadn't felt in a long time, and I fought to keep my hands at my side before pulling back. 

"Let's go to my room," I said, and he nodded, foreheads grazing every time he did so. I dragged him into the room, shutting the door behind us. 

I had room in my heart to love many things. Reading, teaching, learning. Helping others, being with my team, jello. At the top of the list though, miles above anything else, was Alvie. When I saw her I didn't think there was room for anything else. But I thought my heart may have grown a few sizes tonight, maybe just big enough to include room for a certain curly haired, big eyed, strong armed stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this is really not super christmas-y :(( if you guys have any festive ideas, fluffy or smutty or maybe angsty, i'll take anything! pls help me out here bc i'm worried i won't have enough ideas to last me another ten one shots


	16. Special Someone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get a gift for that, "Special someone." Luke was pretty sure it wasn't intended for his 6'1" boyfriend, but he figured he'd get anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a lil smutty, but nothing explicit. more so implied sex

Luke had spent the better half of the hour walking circles in the department store, looking to find something, anything, he could give to Spencer for Christmas. He had realized, fairly early on, that department stores just aren't the type of place to present shop for Spencer Reid. He'd have to go to an antique store, a bookstore, some place that sells coffee so caffeinated that it's illegal, or something of the sort if he wanted to find a present good enough for Spencer. 

Spencer, on the other hand, nearly had his Christmas shopping done. They had driven in together and split up, agreeing to come back and meet at the escalator in two hours. When he checked his watch and saw that he still had an hour left he smiled, proud of getting most of his shopping done quickly. He had gotten Luke clothes, mostly to defer him from stealing his own clothes, he was tired of them stretching out in the shoulders. He had gotten him a new phone case, seeing how Luke was always dropping his phone, a new watch, a pair of nice sunglasses, and some other things he had bought prior, online or in stores. 

He called Luke, putting the phone up to his ear and waited for a response. 

"SSA Alvez," A curt introduction came, Luke obviously not checking caller ID before answering, and Spencer laughed. 

"Doctor Reid here," He mocked, and heard a small snort over the phone. "I finished my shopping early, are you almost done?"

There was a pause over the phone, he was only able to hear the background noises of the busy store. "Yes." He said quickly. "I didn't find much, but I found one thing for you. I'm going to just buy this and then I'll bring the car up so you don't have to walk in the cold." 

"You treat me too well," Spencer said, seating himself on a bench near the entrance, juggling his bags everywhere. "Let me know when you get over here. Love you."

"Love you too." Luke hung up, quickly making his transaction before rushing to the entrance where he found Spencer, sitting patiently on a bench, a comical amount of bags at his feet. 

"Jesus Christ," Luke said, getting Spencer's attention. "I thought we said no more than $150 as our limit this year?"

Spencer shrugged. "Well, we say a lot of things. You're a profiler, you should've known I wouldn't stick to it."

Luke reached for the bags at his boyfriend's feet, but Spencer pulled them away. "Can I trust you to not peek?"

"Absolutely not," He deadpanned, and Spencer glared, shoving over half the bags to him. 

"You're right, I can't. I'll come with you." He took a moment to look over Luke and laughed slightly. "I see you spent your hour doing lots of shopping." He said, nodding to the single, small bag in Luke's hand.

"It is not my fault that Spencer Reid and department stores don't go together. I already have a list of other places I'll have to go to in order to get your presents. How much did you spend, so I know our actual limit."

"Tell me what's in the single bag, and maybe I will." Spencer bargained, and Luke laughed. 

"Not a chance in hell," He said, holding open the door for Spencer so they could brace the cold together.

* * *

I had spent the past two weeks trying to get Luke to tell me what he got when we went to the department store. He was unrelenting in his lack of answers as I was in my questioning. It had become a game, with the two of us and with the team. Stopping by his desk when I was on my way to give Emily my paperwork I'd utter a guess, and he'd only ever laugh and shake his head. The team had caught on quickly and began guessing as well, starting with categories, before delving into smaller specifics, even when he didn't admit to them guessing the correct category. 

"How about this," I began one morning, cooking breakfast while he prepared Roxy's food. "We can each give each other a present early? I can pick what I want early and you can pick what you want." I desperately wanted to know what he had gotten for me, his secretiveness only making it more alluring, which I was sure he had done on purpose. 

"If you can guess the category of present it is, then I'll agree to it, since we both know which one you're going to choose."

"Can you give me a hint?"

"Absolutely not." He said, over enunciating each syllable. 

"Come on," I pleaded, turning off the stove and pushing Roxy away with my foot as she begged for called scraps. "I thought you loved me."

"I do love you!" He said, putting Roxy's food in the bowl for her. "I love you so much that I have resisted all of your pleas so the surprise isn't spoiled."

I frowned, serving us each, handing him his plate as we walked to the couch, planning on going over some files during breakfast before work. Based on our conversation, I didn't think we'd get there. 

"I'm going to keep your presents." I said earnestly, though he knew I would never. "I'm serious. For every day that you hide this from me with no hints, I'm keeping another present."

He sighed, but smiled. I could tell I had been waring him down and this ultimatum, as false as we both knew it was, was his way to give in. 

"Fine, I'll tell you one thing. It's for both of us."

My brows furrowed. "What would you get at a department store for the both us..." I thought through all the sections of the store I had been in, thinking of things that I thought about getting that could've been useful for either of us? "Is it some kind of home decor?" He shook his head no. "Something for the kitchen?" Again, he said no. "Is it for Roxy?" He remained stoic, slowly eating the french toast I had made. I narrowed my eyes. "If you got me a sweater that you're intending on stealing and stretching out in the shoulders so it's too big for me, you'll never hear the end of it."

"Not quite," He said, then regretted his choice of words. 

"So it's clothing?" I questioned, and he shook his head, but there was a moment of hesitation before he did so. "It is! Okay, what kind of clothing is for both of us? You steal my sweaters, but you just said it's not that... Socks? No, you don't like mismatched socks, for _some_ reason."

He watched me carefully while I thought through what it could possibly be. Clothing. What had I seen when walking through the men's section? Pants, but that wouldn't work, we're a different size. Shirts, also no, different styles and he has broader shoulders and more muscular arms. Ties? It could be a tie, the bag was small and I we steal each others ties often, even if he wears them less often than me. 

"Is it a tie?" I asked, certain I was growing closer. 

He laughed, shaking his head. "Listen, amorcito, I'm going to give you another hint because I'm worried about your enthusiasm. It's a little bit of a joke present. I definitely don't mind it, but I don't know how you'll feel about it. It's just a bit of a gag, and if we use it then it'll be fun, but if not I don't care either."

I frowned at him. "You aren't helping me at all, Luke Alvez. I'm going to get dressed." I set down my plate, barely having touched the food, and stalked off to our room. 

I made a conscious decision to only wear clothes Luke had admitted to enjoying seeing me in. A pair of grey slacks that were slightly too tight in the bottom, but I had never gotten rid of. A button up shirt that I rolled up to my forearms, tucking it into the waistband and putting on Luke's belt. I put on the watch he had given to me for my birthday, the leather band complimenting the belt, and it would match my Oxfords as well. I found a scrunchy Garcia had given to me, only partially as a joke, and pulled half of my hair back, leaving a strand on each side of my face. 

When I walked out he caught my eye, grinning. He took two large steps, planting himself in front of me before I could leave the doorframe where he had hung mistletoe a week prior. 

"You know as well as anyone that it's bad luck if we don't kiss." He said, shrugging like _What can you do?_

I glared, but leaned down slightly to kiss him, not letting him deepen the kiss at all. I smiled when he reached up and pulled a berry off of the plant, showing he had been listening to me when I explained the traditions of the parasite. "Go get dressed," I whispered, giving his bottom a love tap, moving off to get dressed. He sighed, like he could already tell that the day would be long. 

* * *

Luke had been correct in his assumptions that the day would be long, after I spent the majority of work teasing him. Candy canes from Penelope mixed with dropping my pencil or files in front of him, having to bend over to pick them up, helped me with that. A wandering hand here or there, pulling him away into a supply closet or bringing him with me to 'get coffee' ensured he was worked up, raring to go when we got home. 

He grabbed my hand, dragging me to the elevator in our building and pushing me against the doors when they closed. 

"Someone's excited," I muttered, ignoring the fact that I was too. 

"I can't help it, my boyfriend's a brat who can't accept that I want to keep a gag gift a secret." He mumbled, kissing down my neck. I instinctively pushed my neck out, giving him easier access. His knee jutted out to separate my legs, and I let him, willing. His fingertips dug into my hips in a way that I worried would leave bruises, before realizing no one else would be able to see them, and the idea was appealing then. 

The elevator dung and the doors opened, sending us both falling back on the ground. 

"Fuck!" I said, shifting my body mid-fall to avoid my head taking the brunt of the hit. Luke and I looked at each other, still on the floor, and laughed. 

"Do you really want to know what the present is?" He asked, still laughing. 

"That was kind of the point of wearing this outfit today," I said, gesturing to the tight pants and hair up how he liked. "I was either gonna work you up and then refuse to do anything, or fuck it out of you so you'd tell me," He laughed at that, helping me up. "But I don't care, I just wanna be with you tonight," I emphasized my words, so he knew what I was saying, even in the public hallway. "I'll learn what it is sooner or later, Christmas is in 9 days anyway."

"Let me go in our room first, and I'm going to put out the present. But remember, I said it was a gag gift. If you actually like it then we can utilize it, but if not then it's just a joke and I couldn't care less either way. Okay?"

I nodded quickly, trying to get into our apartment before our neighbors came out and saw us two-seconds away from sex. Red marks were developing on my neck and I didn't think Mrs. Hendrickson from next door would appreciate the sight as much as Luke did. 

He ran into our room, telling me to give him two minutes while he got the present and I waited anxiously. I honestly couldn't care less what the present was now, I was more focused on getting off after inadvertently working myself up along with Luke all day. He called for me to come in and I ran in, seeing he was stripped down to his boxers, and the bag was on the bed. His cheeks were red and he looked like he was trying not to laugh. 

"Look in it," He giggled and I shook my head at him, reaching for the bag. When I saw the contents I fully snorted. I couldn't believe I had been dying to know what he got me for weeks, and this was what I had waited for. 

"Is this Christmas themed lingerie?" I asked, and he couldn't control his laughter. 

"Maybe," He said, and I laughed too. "I happen to think red compliments you wonderfully, Cariño."

"I happen to think something with room for a penis would suit me wonderfully," I said, holding up the panties that were obviously made for female anatomy. I did feel my cheeks grow red as I looked at it, wondering if it would even fit me. "Is this supposed to turn me into Mrs. Claus?"

"No." He said, smiling like he had been waiting for me to ask that. "It turns you into a ho ho ho."

"Oh, my god," I said, jaw dropping. "I was going to put this on until you called me a ho,"

Now his jaw dropped, obviously not expecting me to put it on, or view it as anything more than a joke. He shook his head quickly, "Wait, really?" I laughed a bit, nodding. 

"I'm feeling festive."

"You're definitely not, you're just horny, _but_ I'm going to leave and you're going to put that on. Call for me when you're ready, waiting on the bed." He said, running out before I could say anything. Not that I was going to argue. 

I just had to figure out how to put it on first. 


	17. The Nutcracker and the Mouse King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer tries to get the team to join him to watch a play, but everyone is conveniently busy. Everyone except Luke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note: i know absolutely nothing about the nutcracker in it's original german version or it's modernized version, so everything i say is 90% bullshit

Spencer walked down the street with Emily, JJ, Luke, and Penelope, all bundled up in coats and hats. They had finished dinner at the new Japanese place down from Quantico, and now they were wandering down past the store fronts, eyeing Christmas displays and reading fliers that were plastered up on poles and bulletin boards. Ads for babysitters and tutors, requests to help with housework and lawn maintenance, lost animal fliers. 

"Oh, hey, Spence!" JJ said, pointing out a flier. "They're doing a showing of the _Nutcracker_ , the version you told me you liked. Looks like they're doing a matinee tomorrow at one, and a night showing at seven."

"The original German version?" Spencer said, eyes wide as he pushed through the group to look at the flier. His smile faltered a bit. "It's in English," He grumbled. Emily rolled her eyes, laughing. 

"Only you would be upset about watching something in your first language, Reid." She said. 

"I'm still going to go! I don't find the American version as compelling, it's been made too whimsical and influenced by American culture opposed to the German story or the Russian ballet. _But_ , if it's a retelling of _The Nutcracker and the Mouse King_ then it should still be told in the contemporary fashion of the 19th century German literature, just in English. Oh! Does anyone want to join me?"

"Sorry, Wonder Boy," Penelope gave his shoulder a squeeze. "I've a date with Sam."

"Will and I already hired a sitter for Henry and Michael, we're taking a cooking class and seeing a movie."

"I'm free-ouch!" Emily said, before JJ hit her on the arm, giving her a look that Spencer didn't understand. Luke looked down at his feet. "Oh, wait, tomorrow, did you say? Sorry, I made dinner plans with an old friend." She said, rubbing her arm and glaring at the blonde. 

"Okay..." Spencer trailed off, seeming that he would be going alone again. 

"I'll join you," Luke said, a small smile. His cheeks and nose were red, something Spencer was sure was from the cold weather. "It sounds interesting. I saw the ballet once, when I was younger but, as you said, it was, uh, whimsical. I'd like to see it how it should be."

"Really?" His nose scrunched up a bit, and he looked down at the coffee in his hands. "You aren't busy?"

"Well," Luke grinned. "I was technically supposed to take Roxy on a walk, but I think she'll understand if I reschedule just this once." Spencer smiled, nodding quickly and mentioning something about texting Luke later to plan for their night. 

"As much as I love seeing you all when we're not on a case, Henry is requesting my presence before bedtime." JJ smiled, saying goodbyes before turning in the opposite direction, rapidly typing on her phone. 

"Oh, Garcia, didn't you want my help building that new Ikea table for your living room?" Emily asked, grabbing Penelope's arm. 

"Yes!" She said, a smile on her face. 

"Do you need any help?" Luke offered, trying to be helpful as a new member of the team. Penelope's smile fell. 

"Not from you, Newbie. We must be going, right, Emily?" Emily nodded. "Ta ta, for now, kisses all around." She said, giving Spencer a kiss on the cheek and Luke an interesting stare. 

Spencer and Luke stood in silence for a moment, an uncommon thing between the two. They simultaneously took steps forwards, walking down the busy street against the flow of traffic. Snow fell slowly, melting when it hit their heads but gathering on the shoulder of their coats. 

"Two is company, that's the phrase right?" Luke said suddenly, when they neared the end of stores, leaning against a cold brick building. 

"That is the first half, yes. It typically says, 'Two is company, three's a crowd,' or just the latter part, implying that when a third person joins a group it becomes uncomfortable, specifically when the two original have a romantic connection." Spencer explained. "It can be connected back to John Ray's 1678 collection of English proverbs, originally said as 'One's too few, three too many,' saying that two is the perfect amount of people, or objects, to have."

"Interesting," Luke said, leaning slightly forwards. "I've never heard it said like that."

"There are actually over a dozen variations of the common phrase, substituting words and creating new versions of it to fit certain situations. It's actually really interesting to look at the different versions of it, starting in the seventeenth century until current times, to see how linguistics are ever changing and new words are inserted to make it better flow with modern language!"

"One day you'll have to walk me through it, maybe with you as my teacher I'll be able to keep up, but, now I have to go pick Roxy up from her dog sitter. I can't make her mad or else I'll have to find someone new to accept my hours, you know how it is." He said, and Spencer nodded. "I'll text you later and we can talk about tomorrow?"

"Yes! Yeah, of course, yes. I'll talk to you later," Spencer said, Luke already beginning to walk away. He called out a goodnight, waving, and Spencer reciprocated, despite Luke not being able to see him. 

When he got to the Metro, waiting for the 10:10 train to bring him within walking distance of his apartment. In the crowded station, his phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out, dreading the common text from Penelope, informing them there was a case, but instead saw a message from Luke. 

_Luke Alvez - > Spencer Reid_

\- I'll assume you want to see the night showing?

_Spence Reid - > Luke _

\- Seven sounds good to me! We could get dinner at this amazing Indian restaurant downtown near the theatre?

_Luke Alvez_

\- And spoil our stomachs so we don't have room for popcorn? You're crazy

Spencer stopped for a moment, before realizing the train was about to leave, he rushed on, thinking about how he should've known better than to push for dinner, especially not when it was just the two of them. He tapped out a message before his phone vibrated once more. 

_Luke Alvez_

_-_ I'll pick you up at quarter to six. I haven't had Indian in a while!

Spencer smiled, 'liking' the message, something Penelope had told him to do, and he put his phone away, letting his mind wander while on the way home. 

* * *

It was rapidly approaching quarter to six, and based on his and Luke's messages, a constant since last night, he was punctual. Probably a habit from his military days, but one that stuck. Spencer was unsure what to wear, spending the better part of half an hour looking over his closet, continuously going over in his head to form different outfits before discarding them for one reason or another. It took him 26 minutes to settle on the same suit he often wore to work, adding in a red tie that he felt made him look festive. 

A loud knock sounded on his front door, Luke announcing his presence. Spencer jumped slightly, not realizing it had already been that time. He checked his watch, seeing it was in fact 5:45 on the dot. It would take them fifteen minutes to reach the restaurant, dinner would take them no longer than forty-five minutes, giving the pair fifteen minutes to arrive and settling in at the theatre. 

"Come in!" Spencer shouted, finishing the last sip of his coffee and running out to the living room where his door was. Luke was entering the apartment, wearing a button up and slacks, not as formal as Spencer but not informal by any means. He had, though, taken an extra step in the festivity, a cheap Santa hat at the top of his curls. 

"Hey," Luke greeted, smiling wide. "You look great! I wasn't sure what to wear, but I figured this would do?"

"You look perfect," Spencer said, setting his mug in the sink. "Nice hat, you got there." He grabbed his coat, readying himself to leave. 

"I'm glad you said something, because I happen to have two. You know the deal, one too few, three too many." He smiled, and Spencer did too, accepting the hat Luke held out to him. 

"You listened," He said, closing the door behind them, going to the car. "I'm surprised."

"Why?"

"Well," Spencer said, adjusting his hat. "I know I can ramble at times, it's easy to pretend to listen instead of tell me to shut up." He laughed it off, and Luke glanced over at him, returning his gaze to the road quickly. 

"I always listen to you," He said. "I don't always remember everything, my brain's not as big as yours, but I try to."

Spencer felt his stomach turn, butterflies twitting, and was glad when they arrived at the restaurant. 

Dinner was short, but pleasant. It was nice to talk about something other than work when they were together, and it was interesting to learn more about each other. They opted to walk to the theatre rather than drive. It was cold, the sky dark, expelling tiny white snow flakes that decorated their cheesy red hats. They ducked into the theatre quickly, Spencer chattering and complaining about the cold. 

"What?" Luke asked, laughing. "The mighty doctor can't handle a little cold?"

"This is not a little cold!" Spencer argued, pulling out the tickets he had printed out and got into line. "I'm from Vegas, a little cold is forty degrees Fahrenheit. This is literally below freezing, twenty-eight degrees. That is definitively below freezing!"

"You wouldn't last a day in the Bronx," Luke chided, and Spencer remembered a similar comment Elle had said to him years prior. 

"Not in the winter, I wouldn't, and I'm big enough to admit that." He smiled, handing the usher their tickets, moving from line to the next to order popcorn. That line was much shorter, and Luke didn't have time for a retort before Spencer ordered. "Hello, can we get a large popcorn and large coffee?" He asked, looking to Luke. He didn't say anything but he smiled. "What?" He asked, paying the woman and accepting the food she had pushed towards them. 

"You." Luke said, leading them into the theatre. "Why on Earth would you need a large coffee at seven at night?"

"Caffein boosts my serotonin."

"Is that a fact?"

"Nope, that's personal to me. If I don't drink at least two pots a day then I get all funky."

"Funky," Luke snorted. "Is that a scientific term?"

Spencer, nodded laughing quietly. "Of course, I'm a doctor. Everything I say is scientific."

They sat together towards the back of the theatre. It was a small room, nothing like a normal playroom, much more like a movie theatre in it's seating and format. 

The play began quickly after they sat, Spencer downing his coffee and Luke taking handfuls of popcorn, eating them one piece at a time. When it started Spencer was enthralled, always having been fascinated in watching plays. It was interesting to see how individual actors portrayed roles, seeing if they changed mannerisms in between showtimes or if they took up traits other actors used during their performances. 

Luke, on the other hand, found it hard to pay attention. He had never been one to see plays, especially not one so blasé. He had seen _The Nutcracker_ various times, despite what he told Spencer last night, and this version, though different, was similar to the ones he had seen prior. Instead he watched Spencer, seeing his expression change and occasionally match the actors. 

"Are you okay?" Spencer whispered when they neared intermission. "You keep zoning out."

"What? Oh, no, yeah, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry if you're bored, we can leave at intermission?"

"No!" Luke protested, tossing a piece of popcorn at Spencer, aiming and hitting the tip of his nose. Spencer scrunched up his face, biting back a laugh. "You said you were looking forward to this. It's not boring, I just get a bit antsy sometimes when I can't move around."

Spencer didn't say anything, but contorted his body to face Luke, grabbing a handful of the popcorn. "Catch," He smiled, tossing a piece in the air. Luke dipped his head, mouth open wide, and caught the food, smiling wide. He didn't have time to celebrate when Spencer threw another piece, and Luke caught it again. They both smiled, biting back giggles. 

They hadn't notice the lights turn on and the curtains close, beginning intermission. 

"Excuse me," An older woman who sat behind them said, tapping Luke's shoulder to get their attention. "I just wanted to say you two are a very cute young couple. I like the Santa hats."

Spencer blushed hotly, reaching up this the crown of his head. He had forgotten he was wearing it, despite seeing it on Luke's head. He resisted the urge to take it off, instead wrapping his hands around his coffee cup, finishing the last drink. 

Luke saw the way Spencer reacted to the woman's comment, blushing and looking down, nervously distracting himself with his cup. "Thank you," Luke said. "But we're... we're just friends." He smiled, and she did too. 

"Okay," She said, sending a wink to where Luke sat, confusing him. 

"Hey," Spencer said, getting the older man's attention. "I'm going to go get another coffee. Do you want anything?"

"I want some statistics on how coffee is detrimental to your health, and your wallet. How much do you spend on coffee every week?

"I didn't go through three dissertations to answer to you!" He said, getting up to get more coffee. "I'll never tell," He smiled, putting a hand on Luke's shoulder as he walked past. 

Luke watched him disappear through the theatre doors, almost missing the old lady talking to him. 

"Just friends." She said, smiling. "There is something very interesting about the phrase."

"How do you mean?"

She looked glad he had asked. "No one puts 'just' in front of something they are satisfied with. You wouldn't say it's just Christmas, or just perfect. Just implies dissatisfaction."

"We're coworkers, Ma'am," Luke said, not arguing her point. "Sometimes 'just' is what you have to live with."

"Have you ever asked him?" She said, leaning forwards to fix his hat. "His answer might surprise you." 

Spencer came back in, a cup of coffee in each hand. 

"Is one of those for me?" Luke asked, and Spencer laughed, settling in his seat. 

"Not a chance in hell. I asked if you wanted anything, and you mocked my coffee consumption. This extra cup is for pure spite."

"You're ridiculous," Luke laughed. "This is why you can't sleep."

"No, I think that's the trauma." Spencer said, and Luke couldn't help but let out a shocked laugh. 

"Jesus, Spencer, didn't realize you had the jokes?"

"There are lots of things about me you don't know."

Luke had nearly forgotten the conversation he had with the old woman, it just barely peaking through in the back of his mind. "Like what?"

"Like, tell me something you've never told another member of the team."

Spencer smiled. "I wear mismatched socks because matching ones are bad luck."

"Where's the proof to back that up?" Luke asked, surprised a man of science would believe in something like luck. 

"The proof is that every time I wear matching socks, something bad happens. I don't care about causation and correlation, based on my extremely scientific research I have done as a doctor, I can prove that they're bad luck."

"Tell me about this extremely scientific research."

"Every time I wear matching socks something bad happens. And every time I do, without fail, it does. I have worn matching socks twelve times in my life. I stopped wearing them seven years ago when I was tired of my day of bad luck."

"Give me an example."

"The first time I wore matching socks, I broke my ankle. The second time I got the hell beat out of me by some bullies. Third time was coffee spilt all over my last clean shirt on my way to my first dissertation, though I guess that couldn't have gone too bad. Fourth time I got broken up with. Fifth time I was broken up with. Sixth time I spent the day with my zipper down without realizing it. Do I need to go on?"

"Are you wearing matching socks right now?"

"Absolutely not, I didn't want something bad to happen tonight!" He said, entirely too serious for someone talking about socks. 

"Neither am I," Luke grinned, pulling up his pants leg to reveal two different socks, the left a deep red with what looked like stars on them, and the right a forest green, tiny Christmas trees adorning them. 

"So, logically, there is zero chance anything bad will happen tonight."

"If that's true, then that means I could ask you anything, and no matter what it was, it wouldn't be upsetting?"

"I suppose... what did you want to ask me?"

Luke glanced back at the woman who sat behind them, and she smiled, quietly eating her popcorn. 

"Would you ever date a team member?"

Spencer choked on his coffee, swallowing hard and looking straight forwards. "I, uh, I did. I mean, I have been in a relationship with a team member in the past."

"Who?"

"Someone who came and left a long time before you joined. She was with us for less than a year, and we had an amicable break up before she left."

Luke's brain wracked through the names he had read, former BAU profilers. Alex Blake, but she was older than him and married. Kate Calhoun, the right age but also married. Ashley Seaver, that was the right age, just out of the academy. 

"Seaver," He said. "Ashley Seaver?"

"What? No, I never actually dated Ashley. We went on a date or two, we did s-uh, we never actually were official. We had fun but we were better off as friends, as teammates."

"Then who?"

He hesitated. "Elle Greenaway. She joined the team about two years after I did. We were together for just a few months, when she went off the deep end."

Luke had read her file, she was shot in her home and after that she acted recklessly before quitting, after she shot someone and it was rumored to not be the self-defense she claimed it to be. 

"Would you do it again?"

"If the right guy asked me, yes." He said, unconsciously leaning forwards. His words were telling, but Luke was oblivious. "But I don't tend to ask other people out, I've been told that's one of my many flaws."

Luke leaned in too, opening his mouth to talk when the lights flashed, dimming down to darkness, and the curtains opened up, revealing the Mouse King.

* * *

Luke waited anxiously through the play, entirely unable to pay attention. He tapped his leg repeatedly through the first half of the last act, until a hand settled slowly on his knee, stilling it. He looked over and saw Spencer still intently watching, one hand gripping his last cup of coffee and the other on Luke's leg. Luke's knee. There was a small smile on his face and Luke swallowed hard. He relaxed a bit, settling into his chair. 

When it finally ended he jumped out of his seat, bringing Spencer's hand with him before it fell into the remaining bit of popcorn. Spencer noticed Luke's eagerness to move about, and he stood, guiding Luke out of the theatre. When they passed the woman who had assumed they were together she winked at Spencer, and he cocked his head in confusion before shaking it, clearing away unnecessary thoughts. 

They bumped shoulders and elbows as they walked, much too close but neither minding. 

"I hate snow," Spencer grouched, taking a glug of the lukewarm coffee. "It's too cold and wet."

Luke pulled the Santa hat over Spencer's ears. Snow fell onto his nose and melted at the contact, turning it red from cold. They stood facing each other, a lamppost casting a warm glow over Spencer, Luke in the shadows. His eyes darted over Spencer's face, resisting the urge to wipe away the wetness. 

"Maybe if you wore a real coat, not just this suit jacket, you'd be warmer."

"Coats are too much work," He said, not entirely understanding what he was saying. "There are snowflakes in your eyelashes."

"You too. Does it make them cold?"

Spencer scrunched his nose. "Eyelashes don't have nerves in them, so you can't feel heat or the lack thereof in them."

"What about your eyelids? Or your cheeks? They're red from cold."

"From cold, yeah." They had both grown closer to one another, neither noticing. Spencer could see Christmas lights unfocused behind Luke, creating imagery he'd expect to see in a Hallmark movie, not with his teammate. "So, are you going to ask me?"

"Ask you what?"

"I told you, I don't ask people out, it's a flaw of mine, remember?"

Luke smiled. "What tells you I was planning on asking you?"

Spencer faltered for a moment, then smiled. "Your behavior. We're profilers. You're leaning in to me as much as I am to you. Your pupils are dilated, and even though that's nor reliable in this lighting, they were earlier too when you came into my apartment. You're blushing right now, only partially due to the cold."

"What would you say if I asked?"

"I think you know. But, you probably should ask, just in case."

"Spencer, will you go out with me?"

"I thought you'd never ask," He smiled, leaning in, and Luke followed suit. Both of their lips were cold and Spencer was right, Luke's blushing was at least partially due to cold. Their faces were wet from melted snow and it transferred from nose to nose, cheek to cheek. 

They pulled away reluctantly, not deepening the kiss but also not wanting to separate. Spencer had never thought the need oxygen was more irritating. 

"I didn't think you'd be the type to kiss before the first date," Luke said, a smile stuck on his lips. 

"I'm not," Spencer said, leaning in for another kiss. "But I decided this was the first date. And I am the type to kiss _on_ first dates."

Luke wasn't going to argue with that, accepting another kiss, leaning against the cool walls of the theatre and watching in awe the way snowflakes landed gracefully on Spencer's face, sitting there for seconds like freckles before disappearing. He thought for a second before laughing slightly, kissing him again and pulling away. Ending the kiss was so sad, but it meant he'd get to do it again soon. Luke worried he'd never want to do anything else besides kiss Spencer, his pink lips begging to be touched, cold from the harsh wind. 

"I guess mismatched socks really are good luck." Spencer smiled, as though this proved his earlier point.

"I think it's the Santa hats," Luke said, resisting the urge for another kiss, suddenly aware of their public position. "Everything's better when it's Christmas, just everything."


	18. Creative Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Spencer stays in D.C while the team goes on a thankfully short case and when Luke comes home he finds Spencer singing and dancing in the kitchen, Roxy asleep in the living room, the dining room table covered in all sorts of cookies, mini christmas cakes, chocolate truffle balls and rum truffle balls, sweet fruit tartlets and more. The house smells amazing, the kitchen is a creative mess, Spencer has chocolate on his face and all Luke wants is to nibble on his beloved."  
> \- @I_kill_Zombies

My arms felt heavy as my eyelids and I swayed slightly walking off the jet. Paperwork could wait until tomorrow, even if the case was luckily short, only five days before our unsub was caught, I didn't have the energy to do it tonight. Spencer was home with a concussion from the last case, he was infuriated about having to stay home, but he hadn't missed much. I just couldn't wait to get home, and I didn't hesitate to get more coffee, filling a mug and bringing it with me to the car.

I blasted the heat, trying to bring warmth to the freezing steering wheel. My hands quickly grew numb and I knew, if Spencer was still awake, he'd chastise me for not wearing enough layers. He was never seen with less than two layers in the winter. I could practically hear him rambling off statistics about driving while tired, especially in bad weather. He told me once that driving without sleep was as bad as driving while drunk. I argued by saying he never had enough sleep, and he told me that was why I always drove. 

The drive was slow and I drank the coffee in hopes of keeping me awake, but it wasn't helping much. I pulled into the apartment parking lot, shocked to see it was only 8 pm, timezones always messed me up when I got back home. I trudged up the stairs, pulling my keys out of my go-bag. It felt too heavy for my tired arms I didn't even noticed the sweet aroma coming from the house, music playing quietly from inside our home. 

I turned the key, slowly entering the apartment. The music grew infinitely louder and I was hit with the smell of cinnamon and vanilla and mulled fruit. I let my bag fall to the floor and followed the scent and sounds coming from our kitchen. What greeted me made me smile, and I leaned against the doorframe. 

Spencer stood, back turned to me, bent over the counter and intently frosting cookies. There were flour handprints on the sides of his sweatpants where he had wiped his hands, his back was bare save for the strings of an apron he had on, and his hair was pulled into a tiny ponytail at the back of his head. I took a moment to appreciate the scene in front of me. A Christmas song I didn't recognize played on and he moved slightly back in forth to the beat, moving from one cookie to the next at lightning speed, his decorations messy but pretty. Roxy sat at his feet, occasionally peaking up to see if he was planning on dropping something anytime soon. I did a sweep of the kitchen and saw hoards of baked goods piled high and already put into festive Tupperware he must've bought while I was on the case. He told me that at his old apartment complex he would drop baked goods off for his neighbors around the holidays, that being near his only interaction with the people in his building, and I supposed he was keeping up with the tradition.

I didn't want to disturb him, and I was sure I could stay there, watching him, forever, but I remembered why he didn't join us on the case. 

"Aren't you supposed to be resting for another week?"

He jumped, not knowing I was home yet. He turned quickly and I laughed at the sight. He had some white powder smeared on his cheek, flour or maybe powdered sugar, and the bumblebee apron he was wearing was stained, making the pattern almost indiscernible. He smiled when he saw me, a lopsided grin that made me wake up a bit. 

"Luke!" He said, rushing forwards to give me a kiss. He tasted like frosting and cherries. "You didn't tell me the case ended! What happened?"

"My phone died right before it ended, and we were all exhausted. We grabbed out bags and boarded the jet all within half an hour of arresting him. But no shop talk," I reprimanded. "You're off work for another week, and if I remember correctly you aren't supposed to be doing any of the things you're doing; Listening to loud music, being in a room with lights, and exerting yourself."

"I'm making baked goods, not running a marathon." He rolled his eyes, still clinging to my side. Not that I wasn't doing the same, most of my body weight was leaned against his lithe frame, and I couldn't help but place kisses along his cheeks and neck, tasting powdered sugar and frosting remnants. "And, actually, the doctor said that as long as my headaches didn't persist and I was free from discomfort for 48 hours then I would be free to return to normal activities!"

"Which doctor said that? The one at the hospital or the one in front of me?"

"Both." He smiled, dragging me across the kitchen to go back to look at the goodies. "Besides, this didn't take that long."

I scoffed at that. We had enough baked goods to feed a small country. "How long did this take you?"

"What time is it?"

I checked my watch. "8:23."

He blushed lightly, looking down, something he always did before telling me a fib. 

"None of that," I said, tapping his chin so he looked back up. "Be honest."

"Well, I took Roxy out for a walk at 3:30, and we had dinner at 6:30, and I took her out for another quick walk around forty minutes ago." Roxy perked up at her name, but saw she wasn't getting any treats and went back to sleep. 

"That does not answer my question, Spence."

"Five hours..."

"Spencer!"

"I'm fine!" He protested, going back to frosting sugar cookies. "My head feels great, no dizziness, no nausea, no pain. I should've been able to go on the case with you guys, but Emily says my opinion doesn't count as a second opinion just because I'm a doctor."

"You're lucky this all looks amazing," I said, stealing a cookie that he was in the middle of decorating. Frosting fell onto the counter and before he could complain I broke it in half, feeding him the remaining portion that I didn't eat. " _Jesus_ , they are amazing!" I gushed, and he smiled. 

"I didn't get a doctorate in Chemistry for nothing. Baking is all STEM, chemistry and maths."

"Nerd. You just _have_ to be good at everything, don't you?" I teased, going for another cookie, but he swatted my hand away. 

"Stop eating everything! I haven't even started packaging anything for the neighbors or the team."

"I'm technically apart of the team. This is just me taking my portion early," I reasoned, still leaning on him. I grabbed his phone off the counter and turned down the music until it became a gentle background hum. "You're gonna wake our neighbors with your music, and even the most amazing baked goods won't make up for lost sleep."

"Did you know losing even just one hour of sleep can disturb your Circadian Rhythm for four days?" 

"I did not. What happens when you stay up all night?"

"Some people argue that it doesn't disturb your rhythm because you restart your cycle the next day, but that's bullshit." He said, not noticing as I pulled him into the middle of the kitchen, draping my arms over his shoulders and swaying softly to classic Christmas carols. "It entirely disrupts your sleep schedule and that level of sleep deprivation can somethings cause hallucinations if you're particularly sensitive to change."

I hummed, peppering kisses along his face. There was a dark spot on his cheek that I kissed, discovering it was chocolate. His forehead crinkled when my lips touched it, and his nose scrunched when I kissed the tip. I went lower to his lips and his shoulders relaxed when we kissed, swaying with me rather than making me sway him. 

"I have to finish decorating," He said, entirely unconvincing. He kept kissing me in between words, the contact more smiles and giggles than kissing. "You're distracting."

" _You're_ distracting," I countered, gesturing to his appearance. "Standing in the kitchen shirtless and covered in sweets. You're irresistible."

"And you're sweaty," He said, going to pull away but I held him closer. He didn't fight it, leaning into the contact slightly. "Why don't you take a shower, I'll finish up in here, and we can go to bed?"

"Why don't you join me in the shower?" I said, not suggestively. I just wanted to be near him, but if one thing led to another I wouldn't do anything to stop it. Five days was a long time to not see Spencer. "You've made a mess. You're covered in flour and sugar and chocolate. Don't you want to clean up this chaos?"

"I'll have you know this is not chaos," He argued. "This is just... a creative mess! If you weren't distracting me then I'd finish a lot sooner, and maybe we could shower then?" He said, bumping his hip against mine. I relished in the small contact he had initiated, even when he was more focused on other things. 

"How in the world am I supposed to not distract you?" I said, restarting my attack of kisses along his face, moving down to his exposed shoulders and collarbones. "I have the prettiest man in the world in front of me, shirtless and sweet as sugar. I haven't seen you in days and you told me I couldn't eat more cookies. I need to nibble on something sweet." I emphasized my point by sinking my teeth in the spot between his neck and shoulder. He sighed quietly, instinctively moving his head over to give me more room. I smiled against his skin. 

"You're lucky you're a sweet talker, Alvez," He said, beginning to pack up his decorations and desserts, moving them to Tupperware containers at lightning speed. "Give me five minutes to finish this and then we can shower."

"Would it go quicker if I helped?"

He looked at me with a smile, reaching out a hand to cup my cheek and I leaned into his touch, suddenly remembering my exhaustion. "Absolutely not. You'll slow me down. Go get us both pajamas and start the shower. I want hot water."

I nodded, grinning. I ran off to our room to grab the softest pair of pajamas for each of us, pulling out one of my old shirts for Spencer to wear to bed. He refused to sleep shirtless in the winter, and I liked the way my shirts hung off his frame. When I passed the kitchen to our bathroom I saw he had already put everything into containers, labeling them with apartment numbers to drop off tomorrow. He was working on cleaning up the 'creative mess; and I smiled, starting the water in the shower. I waited patiently for him to join me, keeping a hand in the shower to make sure it wasn't too hot. 

When he came in he was already stripping his clothes, taking the hair tie out of his hair, setting it on the counter. I could still hear music in the other room, barely making out the words.

_I've got my love to keep me warm,_

He pulled me into the hot water with him and didn't wait to grab the shampoo, washing my hair for me and letting me stand under the rain. While he rubbed my scalp, lathering it in minty shampoo, I noticed he was emitting sweet scents as the powdered sugar and chocolate washed off of him, and I leaned forwards to kiss him. When I pulled away there was a spot on his forehead from where my soapy hair hit him, and I laughed quietly. 

"What is it?" He asked. 

"You," I said. "I love you. You're as sweet as those cookies."

"This better not be a way to eat more of them, I already sectioned them off for everyone."

"It's not, I just really love you."

"I love you too, so much." He smiled, and I couldn't help but reciprocate it, water dripping into my eyes and he told me to close them, rinsing out the suds. My body relaxed under his touch and I could feel him holding me up, not even bothering to wash his own hair, just his body. He pulled me out of the shower, drying me off and helping me dress as the exhaustion grew. 

While he pushed me to our bedroom I heard him humming along to the 50s Christmas music, and I took a deep breath, smelling minty shampoo and vanilla in our entire apartment. 

_What do I care how much it may storm,_

_I've got my love to keep me warm._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much to @ I_kill_Zombies for the inspiration!! it helps more than you can imagine :))


	19. Meet the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer meets all the Alvez family

Christmas was a sacred time in the BAU. When your job revolves around leaving your family at a moments notice, traveling across the country no matter the day or special event, Emily thought we needed a time in the year where we would not go on a case, lest it be time sensitive, like a child abduction. I argued our "Time off, no matter what" should be Halloween, but the idea was immediately vetoed for Christmas instead, Rossi hitting me upside the head at my suggestion for a secular holiday. I expected as much. 

Despite my initial disappointment for having to work on Halloween night, I felt excitement growing at having time to myself, just Luke and me. Well, Luke, me, and all of Luke's extended family we had to travel to see. I had met some of his family prior, early on in our relationship. Most couples don't introduce their significant other to their families until they've been dating for a bare minimum of three months. I've always been a bit of an overachiever though, and met them a mere three weeks into our relationship, because of a key he forgot he lent to his sister and her distaste for knocking, resulting in her seeing my naked body. There was lots of screams, a look that mixed laughter and shock on her face that was seared into my brain, and a lot of Spanish yelling and mocking that I have tried, and failed, to block from my memory. 

After the awkward meeting, waving a meek hello after dressing and cleaning, face bright red, she said if I didn't come to family Christmas she'd have my head, and she'd tell the family how she met me. Luke told me her threats were pointless, she was a _chismosa_ , he had said, and the family probably already knew. This was last year, November 11th, before we declared Christmas a sacred time, and we worked through the holiday. She was furious, but her anger dissipated when she learned of our new policy, implemented soon after December. She practically bought the tickets for us to fly up to the Bronx, despite Luke telling her we would drive seeing how it was only a five hour drive-four hours and 43 minutes, I corrected-but she argued if she bought the tickets then there was no way for us to cancel last minute. 

The plane ride was short, but not the shortest we'd been on together. It _was_ the noisiest, smelliest, and most overwhelming. Children were screaming and crying while parents tried to hush them, to no avail. Couples bickered and teenagers glared. I held Luke's hand tightly, evidently too tight from the way it was red when we finally got off the plane and I let go. We may have flashed out FBI badges in order to get our luggage quicker, find a ride sooner, and arrive at his home as quick as possible. 

Luke held both of our bags and leaned against me slightly, I wrapped my hand around his bicep. 

"How many people are in your family, again?" I asked, feeling a pit in my stomach at having to meet so many new people at once. It was so much different from meeting people on a case, I thought. Those are people I meet in fleeting moments, flashing a badge and giving a quick introduction of Doctor, my impression on them only lasting so long as the trauma did before I ultimately faded away. 

"Well, you know Lucia," He said, and I flushed at the memory, wondering if tonight would be an endless cycle of teasing and blushing over our first encounter. "I have two other siblings, an older brother and a younger brother and sister."

"Roberto, Elena, and Julian." I said, and he nodded. 

"And Roberto and Elena each have a child, both under ten. My dad has six siblings, but I don't know how many of them are going to be here, but I have around twenty primos, and they almost all have kids."

"I'm starting to regret coming after all," I said, entirely false and he knew. 

"Come on," He laughed, opening the door without knocking. Do you knock on your families door when you don't live with them anymore? "It's cold and the sooner we get in there the sooner we can dispute Lucia's claims of how you two met."

"Her entirely true claims-" I was cut off by loud music and voices overlapping when we walked in. 

"Luke!" An older woman, short with graying hair, came bustling over and gave him a big hug, demanding his arms to drop the bags so he could reciprocate. "Oh, _mijo_ , I missed you so much! What's wrong with you, you never wanna see your mother?" She hit him upside the head and he grinned sheepishly. 

"Sorry, Mama," He pulled away from her, discreetly rubbing the back of his head. I grinned at that. 

"And you!" She said, pulling me into a hug before I could react. I was better with touch from strangers after prison, but it still wasn't something I was used to. "Oh, you must be the famous Mr. Reid?"

"Doctor, Mama, he's a doctor."

"Ooh, lo siento por el doctor elegante!" She was obviously mocking, but not with malice. I laughed quietly and Luke gave her a warning stare. "Let me get a good look at you, _mijo_." She said, pulling away from me and putting on glasses. She tsked, shaking her head. "You're both too skinny, what do they feed you at that fancy FBI? I thought they were supposed to be the best!"

"Mama, it's our job not a caterer."

"They give us coffee," I spoke for the first time that night. "That's all I need."

" _Cafecito!"_ She cried. "That's why you're so skinny! Come to the kitchen, I spent all day making tamales and you're not leaving until you eat your fair share." She didn't wait for a response, pushing us into the kitchen. Luke scrambled to grab our bags, moving them off to the side of his childhood home and following quickly behind me, grabbing my hand. She sat us down and made plates for us, Luke protesting that we could do it ourselves, but she seemed to suddenly lose her hearing, placing food in front of us and telling us not to get up till we finished. I was hungry, but didn't know if I'd be able to eat the three tamales she placed on my plate with a healthy side of rice.

"Mama," Luke protested. "We got here five minutes ago! Give us some time to settle, we came straight here from the airport."

She didn't answer, instead yelling to the group of people. 

"Luke is here with his _novio genio! Ven aquí!"_

"Coming!" I heard a voice I recognized as Lucia, and shoveled food in my mouth to avoid thinking about it. 

"Spencer," She grinned, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Gotta say, my friend, you look a lot different with clothes on."

"Lucia!" Luke said, glaring at her. "It's not his fault you don't know how to knock!"

"You shouldn't have given me a key if you were gonna be banging your boyfriend in the middle of the day!"

"It was for emergencies, and if I was on a case and something happened. Not to come barging in when I had a day off of work. What was I supposed to do, put a sock on the door?"

"Worked when we were teens," She grinned, ruffling his hair. He frowned, but didn't say anything else. I felt a ridiculous urge to laugh, so I did. 

"I'm sorry!" I said, bouts of giggling coming through. "It's not funny, I'm just nervous,"

Lucia laughed along. "Oh, no, it's very funny. Roberto, Julian, Elena! Come meet Spencer!"

I heard heavy footsteps running down from upstairs, Julian coming first and then Roberto and Elena, calling back to the kids they left upstairs. 

I shook their hands, unsure what they knew of my first encounter with their sister. 

"So." Julian said, grinning. "Is this the famous Spencer Reid who met Lucia with his di-"

"Julian!" Luke yelled again, and I couldn't help but laugh. I had the eidetic memory but it seemed like they were never going to forget Lucia and I's meeting. "Can we please stop talking about my boyfriend's penis?"

"I mean," I said under my breath. "Now you're the one talking about it."

He swatted at my leg, unconsciously hitting the scar on my thigh, but when I looked up he was fighting back a smile. 

"So, Spencer," Elena sat down next to me, suddenly very serious. "Have you seen any embarrassing pictures of baby Luke?"

"None! And he's seen a bunch of me because of our technical analyst, Garcia, digging them up and posting them around our office."

"Garcia," She smiled. "Leave it to a Latina."

"She's far from it," Luke said. "It's her step-fathers last name."

Elena tutted, but shrugged. "She's got the spirit. And so do I," She grinned, pulling a photo album from behind her back like magic. 

Luke groaned, shoving his face into my shoulder. I laughed, holding the side of his face while Elena showed me photos I was committing to memory. 

"This is not fair," He argued. "You can literally never forget these pictures, I've already forgotten some of the ones Garcia showed me!"

I didn't say anything, noticing the group around me becoming bigger as Luke's cousins, aunts and uncles, and nieces and nephews joined in, all fighting to meet the new guy. I felt my chest constrict slightly, eyes darting along the group to see if there was an opening where I could escape if needed, but there wasn't. Everyone circled around like a prison gang. I swallowed hard and my breathing sped up. My hand on Luke's face grew tighter and he pulled back immediately, looking at me and seeing I was starting to spiral. 

"Come on, everyone, give us some space." He laughed easily, like I wasn't two seconds away from spiraling into a panic attack. "I'm going to give Spencer a tour of the house and then we can do some introductions, okay?"

They grumbled, but separated, leaving a space we could exit through. I jumped up and Luke put his hand on the small of my back, guiding me up steep steps and rubbing his thumb along my spine. 

"It's okay," He muttered, and I didn't know if he was talking to me or himself. 

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to regain control of my breathing. "I don't-I don't know what happened. There was no exit." I said, knowing I wasn't making sense but still reeling from the sudden onset of panic. He pulled me into a room and sat me down on a twin bed, Spider-Man sheets fitted over it. 

"Hey, it's okay. I've got a lot of family, it can be overwhelming for me and I've known them my whole life. Let's take a minute up here, I'll even show you some of my old stuff from when I was a kid. Then we can go back down, do some really basic introductions, then we can head to the hotel for the night. If we get here early tomorrow then we can get slowly introduced to everyone instead of all at once. How does that sound?"

I nodded, finally taking in the surroundings. The sheets on the bed were old, at least twenty years, and though the room had obviously been dusted, it was just as apparent no one had stayed there for quite sometime. This was Luke's childhood bedroom. The thought alone was almost enough to push me the final step away from the panic. 

"Show me what you looked like when you were a kid, I only saw three pictures from Elena." I said, feeling my chest slowly loosen, the only evidence from the partial panic attack some uneven breathing and my digits tapping against my leg, rubbing against my scar. 

He laughed, grabbing photos off the wall, all horrible quality from the 90s and 2000s. His hair was awful, and his clothes were worse, and I laughed. He had the same lopsided grin in the photos that was on his face right now. We looked through a dozen photos and old trophies, laughing at memories and high school embarrassments. 

There was a quiet knock at the door, and Elena peeked her head through. "Can I come in?" She asked, and Luke looked to me. I nodded and she walked in. "Sorry about that." She smiled gently, keeping her distance from where we sat on the bed. "I know it can be overwhelming, meeting so many people at once. And with that _cara bonito?_ How could anyone resist!"

I laughed, "It's okay, it was just a lot at once."

"I get it, that's how Luke was when he was discharged, working in the FBI can't be easy."

"It is what it is," I said, not knowing if Luke had ever told them about prison. 

"No, it's not. But that's okay. We'll be downstairs for whenever you're ready, and I told Lucia and Mama to cool it a bit. Take your time." She smiled, turning around to leave while I muttered a quiet thank you. 

"Do you want to go to the hotel?" Luke asked, pulling me down to lay with him. The bed was comically small for our size, and our feet hung off the end. Even if it was just Luke I was sure he'd struggled to fit on the bed. He shifted around, pulling me on top of him, confirming my theory that even if it were just Luke the bed would be too small. I would've laughed if I wasn't worried about our weight breaking the bed frame.

"No," I said. "I'm good. I just-I don't really know."

"It's okay, amorcito. Like Elena said, I got really overwhelmed from them when I was discharged, and I knew them my whole life. Just let me know when you're ready to go back down, or if you change your mind and decide we should go to the hotel."

"Can we just stay here for a few minutes?" I asked, and he nodded, resuming rubbing my back like he did earlier. I let enough time pass that I thought I'd fall asleep, and pushed myself up off his chest, pulling him with me. "Let's go meet the rest of your family. Maybe let's leave out the panic attack though?"

He nodded, kissing me and bringing me down the steps. The smile on his face grew when we got down there, and he prepared rapid fire introductions, knowing I'd be able to keep up. 

"Alrighty, this is not the first time we've done this before but it will be the first time a significant other will be able to remember it all!" Luke said, seating me down next to him while his family walked over, smiles on their faces like they knew what was happening. "James," He addressed a tall Asian man who was standing next to Elena, I assumed it was her husband. "You failed miserably when we did this to you. Alicia," He said, pointing at another tall woman, Latina, who stood next to Roberto, a few inches taller than he was. "You were able to remember few names, but you did much better than James every could."

I understood he was addressing significant others, probably from putting them through some test to recognize the new family they were meeting. It should've made me nervous, but if anything I felt more confident. This was just names and facts about everyone, that was something I could remember and easily recite back. 

"But, as the favorite child," He said, ignoring the protests from his siblings. "I have brought home the best boyfriend, who is provably a genius with an eidetic memory and will therefore remember everything we tell him tonight. Who wants to start?" He spoke like a gameshow host and a man from the back of the group stepped forwards, speaking like he was giving statistics. This would be perfect. 

"Tío Jeremy," He said. "63 years old, no wife, five kids, seven grandkids."

Another person stepped up, a woman wearing a red dress and a diamond necklace, a glass filled with something alcoholic in it. "Prima Alyssa, 27, no kids, married to Jennifer."

Jennifer stepped up, "Jennifer, 29, no kids, married to Alyssa." 

And it went on and on, until the whole family had said their names, their ages, familial relationships, and the kids gave me facts about themselves that they begged me to recite back. Which I did, impressed smiles on everyone's faces as I never faltered, even when reaching Luke's twin nephews, nearly identical if not for a single freckle on Peter's hand that Mile's didn't have.

"Alright!" Luke said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "And if I'm right, which I always am," I scoffed at that. "Spencer is the only person to ever get every single member of extended family right, and he didn't even hesitate." He mimicked a mic drop while the family laughed, clapping along like it was the end of the gameshow and I had won the grand prize. Looking at Luke, I thought I had. 

"His turn!" A small child, Miles, called out, jumping up from excitement. 

"Oh, I don't know, bud," Luke said, taking a seat next to me. "That was a lot we just put Spence through, he can do some introductions tomorrow during Christmas dinner."

It looked like Lucia was going to object, I was getting the feeling it was tradition for the partner to introduce themselves as well, but Elena put a hand on her sister's arm, whispering something. A sad look came on her face, and she nodded. 

"I can do it, if you help me?" I whispered to Luke. He smiled wide, squeezing my hand. 

"Okay, this year it'll be a little different. Spencer won't be introducing himself, I'll be giving you guys rapid fire facts, with details you need to pay attention to, and then you have to recite them back. Since he so wonderfully proved himself in this family, you all need to reciprocate now."

The group laughed, nodding, and I don't know when but they were all settled into seats, sitting on laps and sipping drinks. The atmosphere was much more relaxed and comforting than it had been earlier. 

"I would like to clarify that I am 100% using this to brag about my amazing boyfriend, and that's the only reason I'm doing this," Luke teased, and I blushed, looking down at our hands in my lap. Someone threw a piece of cookie at his head, yelling at him to hurry. He took that literally, spitting out stupid, little facts he had learned about me in the past three years of dating and working together. 

"Doctor Spencer Walter Reid is a Supervisory Special Agent with the Behavioral Analysis Unit in FBI, he has an eidetic memory, three doctorates, 187 IQ, four masters, and graduated high school at age 12!" I noticed he was saying the facts in a non-chronological order, mixing things up that should've been together, in order to trip up his family. 

"If he's so smart, then why's he dating you?" Someone interrupted, and Luke through the cookie piece back into the crowd, continuing with his rant. 

"He grew up is Las Vegas, Nevada, so _do not_ play poker with him, you will go bankrupt! He is the youngest person to be accepted into the BAU at 22 years old, being personally recruited by the team's founder, Jason Gideon," I frowned at that, then smiled remembering Gideon. He loved Christmas, almost uncharacteristically so. "He is an only child, growing up with his lovely mother, Diana, before moving to California all on his own to go to CalTech when he was 12," He repeated the age again, likely to confuse them, but also to brag about me. I laughed, hiding my face in his shoulder. "He is also considerably out of my league-"

"Yeah, we can tell!"

"Shut up! I was going to say, he's out of my league because he used to date famous actress Lila Archer!"

"Oh, my god, Luke," I groaned. "Do we have to bring that up again?"

"I will bring that up until the day we die, Cariño, I can't believe I had to find out you dated a celebrity from Penelope."

I liked when he said until the day we die, like a promise. I smiled. 

"Okay, Spencer, am I missing anything?" He asked and I shrugged, not used to having all my accomplishment listed out in such an informal manner, especially in front of such a group.

"My favorite holiday is Halloween, and I never wear matching socks."

He laughed a bit at the blasé facts in comparison to what he said. "Perfect. Now who wants to go first?"

A small child, one of Luke's nieces stepped forwards. "Your middle name is Walter!" She said, smiling with missing front teeth. 

"Sí," He said, and she pumped a fist in the air, moving on to the next person. 

It went on and on until almost everyone had said one fact or another about me, often mixing up the numbers Luke had given them. In the end I remembered much more than they had, but that was as expected. The game had gone on for nearly an hour, occasionally testing me to see if I still remembered what they had said.

The panic from before felt so distant, I almost felt at home even with so many people and so many loud noises. We ate until I thought I'd explode, and laughed till tears streamed down our cheeks. The younger children treated me like a game, coming up to ask me random questions and squealed when I got the answer right, forcing their parents to fact check and being both angry and giddy when they found I was correct. 

I sat on Luke's lap in a recliner, watching the night die down in front of my eyes. Parents sent their children up to their rooms for the night, and soon the older relatives retired to bed as well. Luke's siblings and a handful of cousins remained with us in the living room, his mom and dad watching over us from the kitchen. His dad came in, shaking my hand and patting Luke on the back, speaking a quiet goodnight to all of us in the dark room, only light coming from a television playing _A Christmas Story_ in the back, and from fairy lights strewn up in the Christmas tree. 

"Thank you," I whispered, cuddling in closer to him. "I love you."

"I love you too," he kissed my cheek. "Why are you thanking me?"

"I don't know." I said honestly, and he laughed. I didn't say that often. "For being there for me? For not pushing me to do things I don't want to do? It'd probably be a lot easier to see your family if you didn't have to check up on me every five minutes."

He tsked quietly. "None of that, I wouldn't want to be here without you. And I can already tell that they love you. Based on the way my nieces and nephews keep clinging to you and your every word, I think I have some competition."

I laughed, and felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped a bit, looking up and seeing his mother smiling down at us. "Did you two get enough to eat?"

"Yes, mama, thank you." Luke smiled, giving her a kiss on the cheek and she smiled back, pinching his cheek. 

"Spencer?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said. "Thank you for everything."

"Oh, don't call me that!" She recoiled. "Makes me feel so old."

I laughed but nodded, agreeing I wouldn't do it again. She wished us both a goodnight, instructing us to to go to the hotel for the night and to get back here no later than 10 to open presents.

We moved slowly, gathering our bags and saying goodbyes before getting a cab, making the journey to the hotel. Luke checked us in while I held the bags and we rode the elevator in silence. Our room was small, but bigger than his back home. Undressing, I checked my watch. It was 12:30. 

"Merry Christmas," I said, giving him a kiss. He smiled against my lips, making it hard to actually kiss. 

"Merry Christmas, Spencer." He said, pulling me onto the bed with him, clicking off the lamp on his side. "I'm warning you now, my present for you is going to be amazing."

I laughed, curling into his side. "Yeah? I think I've already got exactly what I need."

"And what's that?" He laughed, pulling me closer, and lulling us both to sleep with gentle breaths and his hand rubbing slowly at my back.

"You."


	20. Damned Socks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, the day just seems to get worse and worse.

Logically, I know that bad luck isn't real. Luck of any form is not real, the events that occur to individuals aren't predetermined by finding a four leaf clover or smashing a mirror. It isn't even determined by whether or not you wear matching socks, no matter how intensely I believed the fact. 

It was hard to not believe it when the first time in ten years I wore matching socks, and the day only spiraled downwards from there. 

**8:38 A.M., Dumfries, Virginia**

When I woke up Luke was already out of bed, probably on his morning run with Roxy, and I frowned at the cold bed. It wasn't anything unusual, he was an early riser and I didn't think there was any reason to wake up before 11:30 on weekends and holidays. There were a few occasions I could remember where he woke up as I went to bed. 

I grumbled to myself, slowly getting dressed in the dark, not ready to turn on the bright light in our bedroom yet. The apartment was oddly cold and I put on flannel pajama bottoms, adding a long sleeve shirt and reaching blindly to the sock drawer, only finding two socks. It was my turn to do the laundry and apparent had waited too long. Luke hadn't started walking around the house naked, though, so I couldn't possibly be too late. 

When I took my first steps out of the bedroom and to the kitchen I winced, knee buckling underneath my weight. I cursed, the cold was making my bad knee act up, the ache in it dull and present all around. I wanted coffee, but the machine was twenty-three steps away and the couch was only fourteen. I groaned, limping my way to the couch and crossing my arms over my chest. Luke should be back soon, and he'd grab my cane out of the closet and then I could make some damned coffee. 

I hated having to use the cane, it was such an inconvenience to have one hand busy no matter what. But I also knew the pain would last longer than necessary if I tried to power through it, putting my full weight on it. Luke teased that I was like a 'Sexy Charlie Chaplin.' I hated it, no matter if I smiled when he said it. 

A dull ache in my head became present as well, probably from the lack of caffeine I was so dependent on. Laying down on the couch I put my leg up on the arm, trying to alleviate some of the pain. It only made it worse, but I didn't have the energy to move it, not even when I heard the front door open and Roxy's claws tapping against the floor. She ran up to me, forcing her head under my hand to get pats. I smiled slightly, ruffling her fur and asking her how her walk was, waiting for Luke to join me. 

"Morning! Wait, are you okay?" He asked, moving to me quickly. I figured it was because of my position, discomfort evident on my face. "Why are you wearing matching socks?"

My reaction would've been comical if not for what I deemed a severe situation. "Get them off!" I yelled, bringing my legs up to me only to cringe in pain the sudden movement caused my knee. "Fuck," I groaned, rubbing my knee. 

Luke did as I asked, taking off the socks while I squirmed. 

I frowned, positive that the rest of the day would be bad because of the matching socks. "Will you get my cane? It's in the back of the closet, I don't think I can move around to get it."

"Of course," He jumped up, and I could hear him rummaging around. He came back with a cane Rossi had gotten for me, citing that if I had to look like a grandfather I should at least look like a cool one. And it was cool, dark wood with some form of purple resin cast in cracks and a silver handle. I didn't say anything to Luke, besides a small thank you, and grabbed the cane, going to make a pot of coffee. 

Luke followed behind me slowly, like he was worried I'd fall and he'd have to catch me. I thought about doing it just to see if he would, but I could see how it would backfire. 

I hobbled along the kitchen, filling the pot with water and searching until I found our last filter. I frowned, stores would be closed tomorrow for Christmas, we'd have to go tonight to get some. I relayed that to Luke and he nodded, pulling out his phone and typing something unknown. 

After a bit more searching I was growing frustrated, starting to tear our kitchen apart in search for coffee. I always put the coffee in the space between our cupboard and fridge so I could grab it after I filled up the machine with water, but it was no where to be found. 

"Luke, where's the coffee? We can be out, we just got a new bag a week ago."

He did a quick sweep of the kitchen and sighed. "I think we are out. We got a smaller bag than normal last time, remember? The normal ones were sold out."

My whole body sank, and I could feel myself grow heavier. I just needed one cup, just one cup and I'd be good. "Can we please run to the store? I need coffee. Like, I need coffee ten minutes ago."

His face fell and I would've laughed if not for the severity of my lack of coffee. He took a step back before he spoke, like he thought I might go feral. "The store is closed today... Because it's Christmas Eve."

I tensed, which I knew was ridiculous, but my need for caffeine outweighed anything else. "This is it." I said, limping off to the couch. "The first day in ten years I've worn matching socks. I'm going to commit a crime, Luke. I need coffee."

He looked like he was trying, and failing, to hold back a laugh and he helped me to the couch. "You're nothing if not dramatic, Amorcito." He kissed my head when he helped me sit down. 

He could laugh all he wanted, but this day was evidently going to be horrible, all because I didn't look before putting on socks. 

* * *

**3:17 P.M., Quantico, Virginia**

I was struggling to stay awake and functioning with no coffee in my system, something I hadn't done willingly since before I could reach the pedals in a car. Luke did the laundry for me, putting mismatched socks over my feet despite me claiming it was too late, the day was already ruined. He snorted when I said that, and I knew I was being entirely over dramatic, but I couldn't care less. Nothing good has ever happened while wearing matching socks. 

I was laying on the couch, legs in his lap and Roxy sitting at the floor beneath us. Luke had found some old salve supposed to help with joint pain and he rubbed my knee, scarcely alleviating any pain. But, the lack of caffeine mixed with the relaxing feeling of Luke massaging my knee, I started to drift into sleep. I was nearly entirely asleep, moving towards REM, when both of our phones rang, a text from Penelope lighting up our screens. There was no question to what her message would say, especially when we didn't answer within the minute and Luke's phone began ringing, a sign she was calling to make sure we knew about the case.

I took Luke's phone, answering the call, while he went and grabbed out bags, dressing quickly while I told her our ETA.

Our ETA was a bit longer than anticipated, as my knee wouldn't cooperate when I tried to put on pants, and I nearly thought about showing up in pajamas. Luke had to talk me out of it, holding me steady while I finally got on real pants. The drive was slow, roads caked in snow that made me anxious. The only good thing about getting called in, having to make the trek to Quantico, was that they had coffee there. And if they didn't, I would quit on the spot. 

Luckily, they did have coffee. I asked Luke if he wanted some, limping into the kitchen and not acknowledging my coworkers hellos, the only thing on my mind was caffeine. He said no, but I poured two mugs anyway so I could drink his too. He had to hold it for me, seeing how one hand was full, and the other was holding the mug that I downed before we even reached the round table. 

"Nice look, grandpa." Rossi said, snickering at the cane in my hand.

"You got me this cane!" I argued, starting on the other mug of coffee, trying to savor this one more. 

Tara walked in, laughing at me. "Hey, you finally went full-grandpa!"

"What happened, Spencer?" Penelope asked, walking into the room with a file for me and tablets for everyone else.

"He's an old man," Luke laughed, and I hit him with my file. "Ow! Sorry!" He said, despite the file not hurting him and him not being sorry. 

"The cold weather is just messing with my knee. Did you know that in a survey of 200 individuals it was found that every ten degree drop in barometric pressure increased joint pain, but in another, more recent, study of 222 individuals people said their pain got worse with _rising_ barometric pressure and humidity."

"Uh, no. I did not know that." She said, looking away and quickly moving on to the case while Luke rubbed my knee under the table. 

It was an interesting case, as presented, with seemingly random victims, dump sites, and methods of killing. The only thing to lead us to believe it was a serial killer, one that we needed to consult on, was because the same persons blood was found at every scene, someone who wasn't in any database Garcia could find, meaning that it was no where. With the amount of bodies that were beginning to pile up we didn't wait to get on the jet. 

Two hours into our four and a half hour flight, I realized I wasn't breathing. I was tensed, holding my breath save for small pants that were escaping when my brain begged for oxygen, in an attempt to ignore the paint that was blossoming in my knee. The high altitude was creating a worse pain than there had been, sending searing pains up and down my leg. My fist was clenched around the head of the cane and I ground my teeth until I thought I'd induce a headache. 

JJ was watching me carefully, before reaching into her purse and pulling out a bottle of Ibuprofen, handing it over to me silently. You can't overdose on Ibuprofen, technically, it can make you sick if you take too many, but that's only if you reach a ridiculous amount of pills. I took four, handing the bottle back to her and nodding in appreciated. I downed the pills with crappy plane coffee and counted down the minutes till we were to land, hoping the weather didn't cause any delays.

* * *

**6:31 P.M., Baker City, Oregon**

My head struggled to grasp the time difference, it would be 9:30 if we were back home, but Oregon was on the other side of the country with a three-hour difference. My knee still had a dull ache, not as bad when we landed and settled into a normal altitude. I had the cane in one hand and was leaning slightly on Luke with my free arm, distributing my weight on them in order to alleviate as much pain as possible. The medicine JJ gave me helped, but only temporarily and not very much. 

"Alright," Emily said as we got of the jet, preparing to go different ways in their SUVs. "JJ and Matt, go to interview our most recent vic's family, Rossi and Lewis, head over to the dumpsites Alvez and Reid, check out the bodies and go over their autopsy reports with the ME, and I'll head over to the precinct. Meet me back there when you're done, and drive careful. The head detective told me the roads have been bad and it's already dark out."

We all nodded, going our separate ways. She was entirely right about it being dark out, it was pitch black and felt much later than it was. I trusted Luke to drive over me, seeing how I not only had the bum knee but also because he drives more often and is used to driving in snow than I. 

I watched everything as we passed, small houses and stores. The town looked like it was out of a Hallmark Christmas movie, decorations overwhelming anything else. The only thing that wasn't covered in lights and Santas was a Wal-Mart we passed. I opened my mouth to say one thing or another, not entirely sure of what I was going to say until the words actually left my lips, when the car began to spin out of control. 

We spun out thrice before going off road, flailing about in the car before coming to a harsh stop against a tree. 

My head was spinning and it felt like there was a weight on my chest. I looked over to Luke and saw him blinking harshly, trying to comprehend what had just happened. I blinked once and winced, vision getting cloudy. I reached up and felt something warm and wet trailing down from my forehead, I must've nicked it on something and cut it open, blood trailing into my left eye. 

Luke and I seemed to snap back into reality at the same time, unbuckling our seat belts and checking over each other. I was certain his wrist was at least sprained, and the windshield had cracked, sending glass onto both of us. He was covered in little cuts over his face and hands, and I was sure I was too. 

"Look at me," Luke's voice sounded both too loud and distant, like it was a recording. I blinked twice, trying to settle my vision on him. His hand reached forwards and wiped at my face, coming back a dark red color. "I think you have a concussion, and you'll need stitches on this cut." His finger dipped lower to my cheek, settling on a gash I didn't know was there. 

"Call Emily," I said, the first cohesive thing I'd said since we crashed. "We need to call Emily."

He didn't say anything, but pulled out his phone. She answered on the first ring, and he put her on speaker. 

"Prentiss." Her voice came through the other end, and I could scarcely make out background noises from the precinct. 

"Emily," Luke panted, starting to part from the initial shock. "Spence and I got in an accident, we're about half a mile south of the Wal-Mart, and this car is totaled, we can't drive back."

She cursed quietly. "I'm sending an ambulance your way, do not move. Are you hurt?"

"He has a sprained wrist," I spoke up. "There's broken glass..."

"Spencer has lots of cuts from the windshield, I think he has a concussion. He's a little confused."

I didn't have the energy to be upset or defend myself, instead leaning back, already hearing the sirens come close. 

"Okay, shit," She muttered, mind obviously reeling. We'd been in Oregon for twenty minutes and already manages to bring bad luck with us. "Listen, after you get checked out by the ambulance go straight to the airport, if you're cleared to fly. Neither of you are in shape to work the case, go home and if we need either of you we'll have Garcia set up a FaceTime or call. I'm staying on with you until the paramedics get there, and I'll try to meet you at the hospital too."

She didn't have to stay much longer, as the ambulance came in record time, getting us out of the car and gathering our go-bags and weapons out of the back, not wanting to leave anything of the sort where anyone could get it. 

The ride to the hospital was long, and by the time we got there Emily was in the waiting room. They insisted on wheeling us in, despite our insistence that we were fine, even if I did lose the cane sometime during the crash. 

"I'm Unit Chief Emily Prentiss," She said, shaking our doctors hand. We were in the same room, a curtain separating us that we moved as soon as they left. "These are my agents, can you go over their diagnostics with me?"

The doctor looked over to us and we nodded, confirming she was able to tell Emily our health. 

"SSA Alvez has a sprain in his wrist and elbow, he certainly won't be shooting any time soon. I'd advise keeping him out of the field for a month, unless his doctor back at home sees his sprain healing sooner. SSA Reid has a concussion and we had to give him stitches, as I'm sure you can see." She gestured over to where I was laying, six stitches in my cheek. "He can get the stitches removed in a week by his primary doctor in Virginia, but as for the concussion," She tutted. "He'll be out for two months, I'm assuming. He can go out in the field after a month but limit his time to interviews and examinations, not going out to find the suspect, and he should be fine."

"Thank you so much, Doctor...?"

"Doctor Bailee Salinger, Bailee is fine. But I did want to say another thing, Agent Reid's knee seems to be in a lot of pain, but he didn't mention it to me when I was doing my general exam."

Emily looked at me and rolled her eyes. "Yup. He injured his knee a while back on a case, it just acts up sometimes."

Doctor Bailee nodded, wishing Luke and I an easy recovery. "If that's all then you'll be discharged within twenty minutes, and you're free to fly."

We thanked her and Emily rummaged through her purse. She handed us an envelope with two plane tickets inside. "I have to go back to the station but there's an officer here who's going to drive you to the airport. Your flight leaves at 11:25, you should be back home and settled in by 5 tomorrow morning. Get some rest and don't worry about the case, we'll let you know if we need anything."

She gave us each a hug and turned on her heel, off to work on the case.

"What're you thinking about?" Luke asked, reaching out to hold my hand across our separate beds. 

"Matching socks." I frowned, and he laughed.

* * *

**11:48 P.M., Terminal One, Oregon**

Snow fell furiously outside, and our flight was delayed for the fifth time. I was waiting for them to cancel it, but it had yet to happen, like they thought the snow would magically stop and melt, clearing the airway. 

"Spencer?" Luke said, using his arm that wasn't in a sling to poke me. I furrowed my brows, bringing my sunglasses down to look him in the eyes.

"What?" 

"You were mumbling to yourself." He said, scooting closer to me. "How's your head?"

"It feels like there are knives in my skull." I said, pushing the sunglasses up again to block out the light. "I'm nauseous. Why are there so many families here with young kids? Who is trying to get on a flight ten minutes before Christmas?"

"Well, we are, technically."

I glared, and he laughed. I tried not to join in, but we looked so ridiculous I couldn't help it. It was Christmas Eve and we were sitting in the middle of the airport looking like we just lost a fight. Luke's arm in a sling, I had stitches on my cheek that I had thus far resisted to touch, but wanted to. I knew people must think we got into a drunken bar fight, with the cuts and my sunglasses despite being indoors at 11:50 p.m. Some kids pointed at my cane, an officer had retrieved it and brought it to the hospital, and I subtly pushed it out so they could get a better look, and parents smiled at me. 

"Come on," Luke said suddenly, standing up with his good arm extended to me. 

"What is this?" I asked pushing myself up with my cane. 

"Dance with me," He went to his phone and started music, Christmas songs I recognized as being from the 40s and 50s. He preferred modern ones, but he also knew I liked old songs and that they were much better to dance to anyways. 

"I can't dance, Luke, and neither can you. Together we've got stitches, sprains, concussions, and crap knees."

"I already started the music, you can't say no now." He said, pulling me close and gently swaying us. The urge to argue dissipated, and my head fell to his shoulder, sunglasses pushing up slightly. I held him on his good arm and he took my weight from my bad knee, and I wondered if we'd be able to stand if not for each other. 

Judy Garland's voice came through the tinny speaker, followed by Ella Fitzgerald and Perry Como. 

I felt stares as families and couples passed us, we were probably quite the sight to see, but I barely even registered in my head, instead focusing on the way his body radiated heat towards me and I tried to get even closer to him, as though it were possible. 

I wanted to stay like that for the rest of the night, ignoring the pain in my knee and I'm sure the pain in his wrist, but we were interrupted nonetheless. A voice came, crackling through the speaker, to announce our flight had been officially scheduled for take off and that passengers should prepare to board. 

We pulled apart slowly, and his swollen lip pressed a kiss right above the bandage over my eyebrow. "See? Your 'bad luck' has apparently run out."

I snarked at him, each of us taking a bag and walking to board the plane. I snuck a glance at my watch and saw that my day of bad luck was over, and it had ended ten minutes ago, it was 12:11. 

"Or maybe it's just a new day. I told you, matching socks are horrid luck." I gestured to our beaten bodies, and he laughed, then winced, proving my point. "But thank you. Merry Christmas, Luke."

"Merry Christmas, Spencer," He kissed me, and we walked hand in hand to the plane, leaning on each other for support.


	21. Parties and Partners II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Spencer deal with the aftermath of explaining their complicated relationship to the team.

Alarms were not a good way to wake up. Blaring sirens or flashing lights, slamming randomly until you found the snooze button. 

_But_ , they were more tolerable when you were waking up with someone else. 

Luke reached over blindly, turning off the alarm and rolling towards me in bed when I grabbed at him unceremoniously, pulling him closer to me. We were at my apartment, he hadn't been home since Saturday morning, only stopping to grab clothes. He'd stayed at my apartment the whole weekend.

"We have to get up and go to work." He said, and I shook my head. 

"No, we have to stay in bed the rest of the day." I argued. 

He laughed, shaking his head and stepping out of bed, cringing at the cold. "Come on," He pulled on my arm, trying to get me up. "If you don't wake up now you'll be grumpy when we get to work."

"Bring me coffee and I'll think about it." 

He snorted and walked over to the door, flipping on the light. I hid under the blanket, avoiding the sudden brightness until Luke grabbed the bottom of the blanket, yanking it off of me. He pulled me out of bed, nearly carrying me to the kitchen and sitting me down at the table while he made coffee. I sat and watched him move around the apartment to get ready. He wandered off to the bedroom, coming out dressed for the day. I checked my watch and saw we still had an hour before we had to leave for Quantico. He pushed me up and to the bedroom, telling me to get dressed and I grumbled the whole time, but did as he said. I quickly put on a suit and a purple tie, grabbing my wool purple scarf out of the back of my closet and one blue sock and one pink. 

When I came back to the kitchen he had a cup of coffee sitting out for me and both of our bags on the counter. I took the coffee but frowned. "Why are we getting ready so early? We still have 53 minutes before we need to leave." 

He walked behind me, kissing the scar on my neck. "We need to talk to Emily, she sent me a text and asked us to come in early so we could tell her before going over a case."

I groaned, downing the cup of coffee and filling it up again, watching Luke quickly gather our items and usher us out the door, I followed close behind. We didn't give the car time to warm up, and I shivered violently when we got in there, wishing I had another coat. Luke held my hands in one of his. My fingers curled around his wrist, trying to find warmth in the ends of his sleeve. The world around us was white and I put on sunglasses, trying to block out the brightness of snow. Luke drove slowly on snowy roads and every station on the radio was playing Christmas carols in favor from the normal Top 40s and Oldies. It was a quick drive, but was made longer due to the rough roads, but nonetheless we got there quickly. 

"Should we take off these rings?" Luke asked, twisting it around his finger. He had moved his to his pointer finger, claiming he liked having something to fidget with. Mine sat on my right hand's pinky. The ring was slightly too large there, but remained a stress relief when I also needed something to mess with. 

"We're about to tell her we're not really engaged anyway," I said, stepping onto the elevator. "She'll probably notice they're not on our ring fingers, and if not, she'll know soon enough."

The doors opened with a quiet ding and we walked out, knuckles grazing, but not holding each other, and went straight to Emily's office. Her hair was curled and she wore a red turtleneck with a black blazer over it. 

"Good morning, guys!" She said, wide smile on her face. "Shut the door behind you and we'll get right into it." 

Luke shut the door, taking a seat next to me. 

"Okay, like I said at the party, I would normally do an internal interview and let this slide under the radar, but seeing how you both decided to announce it so publicly, I need to do this professionally. Understand?" We both nodded, and she began with the standard questions, pulling out her phone to record this interview. 

"This is Unit Chief Emily Prentiss, interviewing SSA Luke Alvez and SSA Doctor Spencer Reid due to new relationships within the team. Luke and Spencer, can you tell me when your relationship started?"

Luke smiled a bit, trying to hold back a laugh while I answered. "Three days ago."

"Alright, and-wait, what?"

"Our relationship began three days ago."

"But..." She cocked her head to the side, eyebrows furrowed. "But the party? And the engagement?"

"SSA Alvez and I both admitted to having romantic feelings for one another and began a romantic relationship three days ago, Friday, December 20th, 2020."

Emily looked lost and she stopped the recording. "Out with it. What's going on?"

"Ask us another question, you're a profiler. Figure out what we're talking about." Luke said, wide smile on his face. I didn't think he'd continue with the game we were playing, but he seemed intrigued in seeing if she would piece it together. 

"What is the nature of your relationship?" She said, the smile small on her face but still apparent. 

"Romantic," Luke answered. "We are dating."

"And what led to the relationship as it stands."

I tutted my tongue, she had asked an obvious question that would lead us to telling her exactly what happened. "I told Luke that I didn't want to go to the annual Bureau Christmas party, that my Unit Chief was making me go to," I gave her a pointed stare and she laughed. I saw her phone was recording again. "He offered to act as a fake boyfriend so I wouldn't have to go alone considering I had an ex-girlfriend who would be there with her new significant other. Whilst there we did certain things to make our act as a couple more convincing and had both accidentally worn rings on our left ring finger, ultimately making the team, as well as other agents, believe we were engaged. At the end of the night, before we left, a coworker made a comment about PDA and not kissing, which led us to kiss. After we arrived back at my apartment we had a discussion about the night, as well as the fact that our teammates had profiled us to have an attraction to each other, and admitted to having feelings for each other. Seeing how we already came out as a couple to the team, and had kissed, we made the relationship official that night, skipping dates and going straight to dating."

"Ah, come on," Luke complained. "You just gave her all the answers!"

"So, instead of telling us, or at least me, that you were fake dating, you staged an engagement?" She asked, not looking like anything we said had created clarity. 

"Yeah, that about sums is up." Luke nodded, and I bit my cheek to keep from laughing. 

She sighed, turning off her phone and thrusting paperwork towards us. "You two are making me go grey. Fill out the paperwork and have it on my desk by this afternoon. And you two can deal with telling the team about this mess."

We nodded, grabbing the papers and turning to leave her office when she spoke up again. 

"And boys? Merry Christmas. I hope you're happy."

We smiled and left, shutting the door behind us. 

The rest of the team had yet to arrive and we sat down at our desks, pulling out the paperwork for HR. I was sure we were violating HR rules at the moment, his chair rolled over to my desk and he rest his feet on my lap. I held my left hand on his knee and used my right to write. He put his left hand over mine, and I could feel the cool metal of my ring, now his, on my knuckles. 

"Now, now, if it isn't the two lovebirds in their natural habitat?" Rossi came up behind us, Tara and JJ not far behind.

"Filling out HR paperwork? How romantic." Tara said and JJ laughed. "What's next? Working the case on your wedding day?"

"Speaking of," JJ interjected. "I'm a little offended I didn't know sooner. Do you have a date?"

Luke laughed and I shrugged. "Maybe we'll pick a date when one of us proposes."

Penelope trotted up to where we were, dragging along Matt. How easy it was to gather the team, all you needed was gossip and a new couple. 

"I'm confused," Rossi said. "I thought you were already engaged?"

"They are!" Penelope said putting an elf ear headband on me, pushing my hair back, and a Santa hat on Luke and pointing to our hands only to scrunch up her face in confusion. "Okay, what happened in three days that cancelled your engagement? Newbie, I swear to god, how do you always ruin things?"

"Why did you assume it was me!" Luke said, taking his hand away from my leg and throwing it up in defeat. "Besides, we were never engaged!"

"But at the party you had rings! And you said you were engaged...?"

"This isn't confusing to just me, right?" Matt said, looking around and seeming relieved at the confusion apparent on everyone else's faces. 

"Care to explain, boys?" JJ asked, using a maternal voice that urged me to tell the truth, but I bit my tongue. 

"If you as the right questions maybe you'll get the right answers," Luke said, moving his legs off of my lap and giving me a quick kiss, grabbing my coffee cup to get more caffeine for me. 

The team huddled around me, like they might be able to squeeze the answers out of me if they got close enough. They looked at me expectantly and I shrugged, reiterating what Luke had said. 

"Are you really about to make us play a game of 20 questions?"

"Of course not," I said, and they seemed to relax. "20 questions is a game that involves two parties asking and answering questions to better acquaint with one another. This is much more like a one-sided interview." They groaned while I grinned. 

"Alright, I'll bite. You're not engaged, but you're obviously together, and have been some time. So, when did you move in together?" Tara asked, and Penelope seemed to do calculations behind her. 

"We haven't." I said. 

"That's right," Garcia said, moving forwards a bit, like she was presenting a case. "I'm the one who digitalizes all paperwork you guys fill out. That includes change in place of living, and neither of you filled one out. That's not something you can hide because the Bureau needs your address. Like, 'I need Derek Morgan' type of need."

"I'm really confused now," Matt said. "What did you say at the party that was true?"

"Well, we are together. _But_ ," Luke said, handing me my cup of coffee and reclaiming his spot. "That wasn't true when we arrived at the party."

"Okay, you guys," Tara said, throwing a file on my desk in dramatics. "Just fess up and explain."

"Oh, come on!" Luke said. "Get in the Christmas spirit."

"Nothing about this is festive, Santa," She said, hitting his hat to make the tip flop over. 

"Vamos a decírselo," I said, and he frowned. 

"No eres divertido, amorcito." He said, and I laughed. 

"Pero...?"

"Pero, sí, podemos decírselo." He grumbled, and the team stared expectantly. 

"We were fake dating so I wouldn't have to go to the Christmas party alone."

"Why would you do that?" JJ asked, obviously still confused. "You could've come with the whole team, like Emily and Rossi?"

Rossi looked offended, but didn't say anything. 

"I wanted to avoid another agent I went on a few dates with. She started dating another employee after we, amicably, split, and I just didn't want to come alone when I knew she'd be with someone,"

"You were dating someone else?" She asked, seeming hurt that I never told her. 

"Not really!" I tried, "We went on a few dates when I was free for a couple months, but we were never 'officially' together. But I still didn't want to go alone, and I told Luke about it. For some reason he volunteered to be my fake boyfriend. The rings were an accident, but we were in too deep at that point and just went with it."

"'For some reason,'" Tara laughed. "That man hasn't been able to take his eyes off you since you met, he volunteered to be your fake boyfriend because he wanted to be your real boyfriend, and it seems like somehow he tricked our resident genius into dating him?" She nodded towards our linked hands and partially finished paperwork.

"Is that true?" I asked Luke, and he blushed lightly, not answering me. I smiled, and turned to the team. "Nonetheless, after Rossi joked about us not kissing, and I kissed him, we went home, talked about it, and it sort of just... happened?"

"So, to reiterate," Luke said. "We are dating, but only have been for a few days, we are not living together and we are not engaged."

Penelope frowned. "Now what's our excuse for trashing Rossi's mansion?"

Rossi shook his head, walking away and muttering in Italian. 

Matt and Tara walked away, conversing about our dramatics, leaving behind JJ and Penelope to talk to us. 

"You guys are ridiculous," JJ said. " _But_ , I am glad you didn't get engaged without telling me. If that happens again I swear to god, Spence, I will take away your title and make Morgan the boys godfather."

She didn't give me time to argue before turning on her heel and walking off to her desk. She was all talk, probably. 

"Newbie," Penelope said, ignoring me in favor of glaring at Luke. "If you hurt my beautiful Doctor Reid, I will ruin your life. Spencer, my love, you're perfect as always and I am so happy that you're happy!" She turned away, kitten heels tapping the linoleum.

"You've gotta be kidding me, right?" Luke called after her, and she didn't hesitate, still walking towards the lair. "I thought I'd get a little leeway if I was smacking on you?"

"Smacking on me?" I repeated, raised eyebrows. "Is that why you're with me? Getting on Pen's good side?" I leaned in closer and he did the same.

"Oh, definitely." He said, getting closer. "It's all mind games, Baby,"

I closed the gap between us, trying to discreetly steal a kiss without the team noticing. Of course, they noticed, and I was hit dead-on in the cheek with a soft, fluffy white ball. It had red writing on it that said _Indoor Snowball_. 

"I do not care if you two have been together three days or three years, don't make us watch you be all lovey dovey," Emily said from up the stairs, leaning against her office door with another indoor snowball in hand. "Some of us are still devastatingly single."

Luke grinned, grabbing the snowball and throwing it back. She dodged it and it bounced off of the wall behind her, hitting Tara in the head.

"Are you kidding me?" She yelled, picking up the ball and throwing it with no specific target. It only took a matter of minutes before the whole team was engaged in a snowball fight, hiding behind files and under desks as more and more stuffed snowballs flew through the air, though I didn't know where they all came from.

Luke and I hid underneath the desk together, as he hoarded snowballs. "Merry Christmas," He smiled, kissing me.

"It's the 23rd," I said, kissing back, and he threw a snowball at me, letting it bounce off of my nose gently.

"Say it back."

"Merry Christmas," I said, noticing the sudden silence. Before I could extract myself from the desk, a mountain of snowballs were thrown at us, the rest of the team trapping us under the desk, everyone shrieking with laughter and running away, avoiding the violence of Christmas spirit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i tried ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	22. Festive Finds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke is on the search for something festive, and local librarian Spencer helps him find it.

The atmosphere in a library was always calming, Luke thought, no matter the how the outside world felt. The smell of old books and the warm lighting made him feel the stress lift off of his shoulders, floating away. 

Though he had yet to visit the library in his new home, a small town in Virginia, he figured it would be the same. It was a short walk from his apartment, snow melting onto his shoulders and in his black hair while he walked. The sun was already set, the only light coming from storefront displays and street-lamps, decorated with fair lights up the tall poles. The front of the library looked like a mansion, a large brick building with large windows set in the stones. Windows were framed with twinkling lights and there was a large wreath hanging on the door. 

Luke opened the heavy doors, walking through the foyer and sweeping his eyes left and right. There were tables set up to the right, bookshelf towering over them and a faux fireplace. To his left was the checkout desk, two spots to get your books. An older white woman sat at the one closest to the door, cat-eye glasses and a stack of books in front of her, stamping them with impeccable rhythm. At the other desk sat an attractive white man, slouching over with a Santa hat falling over onto his eyes while he read through a book at a speed that Luke was sure was inhuman. A sweater was shrugged over his shoulders and Luke watched the woman get up and say something to the man before patting his shoulder, grabbing a purse, and calling out a goodnight before leaving through the back. The man looked around, sighing before moving back to his book. 

Luke approached the man, holding his hands in front of him and smiling. "Hello!" He spoke quietly, despite no one else being near. "I'm looking for a book, I'm not sure if you guys will have it, but it's _A Christmas Tree and a Wedding_ , by F-Fy-"

"Fyodor Dostoyevsky. _Yolka i svad'ba,_ an interesting Christmas story. Fairly easy to follow and a very quick read." The man looked up, smiling at Luke's attempt to pronounce the foreign name. He was wearing a name tag that had scribbly writing on it, Luke deciphered it to say 'Spencer' with a drawing next to it, some odd green creature. "I'm assuming you want that in English?"

Luke laughed sheepishly. Seeing the man up-close for the first time sent him reeling. He was ridiculously attractive. Brown curls spilt out front under the Santa hat he was wearing and he had hazel eyes and pillowy pink lips, and cheekbones that Luke was sure would cut him if he let them-which he would. He nodded quickly, confirming he was looking for an English version, not the original Russian. 

"Shame," Spencer said. "The original Russian just feels more festive. I know we have it in right now, I cataloged it eighteen days ago, how about I show you where it is, so long as no one moved it?"

Luke nodded, letting Spencer lead them through the building. The man was taller than Luke, not by much, probably only an inch or so, and he was very lean, Luke was able to tell even under the baggy Christmas sweater he wore. "If I could read Russian then I would, but sadly I'm no genius."

"Well, we can't all be," He smiled, bringing Luke to the Classics, immediately finding where the book should've been. His eyes darted the nearby books and he furrowed his brow. He pushed his glasses further up his nose. "It seems like someone moved it, but fear not! It shouldn't be too far."

Luke noticed how much darker it had grown outside and frowned. "Well, I wouldn't want to keep you too late, when do you close?"

Spencer checked his watch and chuckled. "Two minutes ago," Luke started to protest but Spencer cut him off. "Don't worry, I would've stayed here late anyway. How about you come with me on my rounds to make sure no one else is still here and lock all the exits, and we can look for your book?"

Luke chewed on his lower lip, but nodded, eager to follow Spencer. 

"Great," Spencer smiled, bringing Luke along the library as they searched for the book. "So, any reason you're looking for a Russian Christmas story when you obviously don't speak Russian?" He asked, trailing fingers along the spine of the books. 

"My nephew is in an odd Christmas phase right now," Luke said, following a bit too closely to the man. "He's been making my sister get him every book or play about Christmas she can get her hands on, and he told me all he wants for Christmas is to talk about one of the books with me."

"Why not just find a summary?" Spencer asked, locking a side door and going up steps to the second level. Luke saw the man was wearing some ratty Chucks, a pair of mismatched socks peeking out from below his pant legs. "It would be easier than finding an obscure Christmas story, no?"

Luke laughed a bit, skipping steps to keep up with Spencer. "It definitely would be, but it's all he asked for. He told me he wouldn't accept anything else."

"How old?" Spencer asked, footsteps echoing loudly as they reached a room with no books in it, a small stage that Luke assumed was for plays or such. Spencer grabbed a headband with antlers on it and placed it on Luke's head, smiling when Luke bent down to let Spencer place it. "Suits you."

"He's seventeen," Luke said. "I swear that kid is like a sponge, soaking up all the knowledge he can get."

"I was like that around that age," Spencer said, absentmindedly, leaving the room and expecting Luke to follow. Luke, of course, did without hesitation. The library was large and empty, giving a near ominous feeling if not for the Christmas decorations strewn up and warm lighting surrounding them. "I read a lot then, not that I still don't now. Volunteering at a library gives one optimal time to read."

"Volunteer? Do you have another job?" Luke asked, walking next to Spencer and resisting the urge to take his hand.

"Two," Spencer replied, crouching down to lower bookshelves and searching through it, but to no avail. "I work for the FBI and I'm a college professor." 

"Wow, you must be a pretty busy man," Luke said, growing guilty at keeping him here after he was supposed to go home. They had been searching for nearly thirty minutes, Spencer would probably have already been home, relaxing.

"That's why I just volunteer," Spencer said, slowly standing up to look at the rest of the shelf. His knee seemed to shake as he stood. "It's a nice stress reliever, being with books and silence instead of agents or students."

"Are your students on break now?"

"Yes, they don't have classes until early February, which means more time to lesson plan and more time at the library. Win-win for me, though I do have to finish grading finals when I get home." He smiled at Luke, shrugging a bit like _what can you do?_

"You know, I can easily come back tomorrow," Luke tried. "I don't want to keep you if you have finals to grade and I'm sure you want some sleep."

Spencer laughed wickedly. "I won't be sleeping until early hours, don't worry about me. If you have somewhere to be don't let me keep you though, I can find the book and put it in the back. If you stop by tomorrow and let the woman who was here when you came in, Julia, know then she can check you out."

Luke bit his lip. "You won't be here? I was kinda hoping you'd be checking me out," He was not none for his subtlety. 

Spencer, though, was not known for observational skills when it came to flirtation. He smiled politely, "I have work at the Bureau tomorrow morning. If it's not one job it's the next."

"Well, when might you be volunteering next?"

"It's day by day. They text if they need me and if I'm not away on a case then I come in."

Spencer walked away to the front desk, Luke close behind. He watched Spencer disappear under the desk and come back up with his hand clenched in a fist. "These are for the kids," He couldn't hide his smile. "But, I thought you might want a bit festivity?" He pushed his hand towards Luke and revealed a tiny enamel pin, a bright green Christmas tree.

Luke couldn't fight a smile and he nodded, taking the metal and pinning it to his collar. 

"And," Spencer said, one hand behind his back. "I have to apologize, it seems like we were on a bit of a wild goose chase." He brought his hand forwards, revealing a paperback copy of _A Christmas Tree and a Wedding._ "Someone must've brought it up to me earlier and I probably put it down here, forgetting to put it back on the shelf."

Luke laughed, of course it had been there the whole time! Just their luck. "No apologies necessary, I had fun. Plus, I _did_ get these nifty antlers out of it." He grinned. 

Spencer quickly made a library card out for Luke, finally learning his name, and checked out the book. "Walk me out?" He asked, grabbing his satchel and going to turn off the last of the lights. 

"What? Does the FBI Agent need protecting?" He teased, and Spencer blushed red as his Santa hat. 

"No, but he wouldn't mind your company?"

"Well, then I guess I could walk you out," Luke said, rolling his eyes, but the grin on his face told the truth.

They walked out together, not talking of anything with substance, but it made them both smile nonetheless. Spencer offered Luke a ride home when he realized he walked to the library, probably not anticipating spending so much time at the building. Luke gratefully agreed, if only to give them more time to spend together, and if he accidentally told Spencer to take a wrong turn, adding a few minutes on their drive, well, that wouldn't hurt anyone. All the stations were playing different genres of Christmas music, and they had settled on one playing 'Last Christmas.'

When they finally made it to Luke's apartment, the light still on and visible through his windows, he realized he didn't want to get out of the car. 

"I'm not the profiler here, obviously, so I don't know if I misread this, but would you like to go on a date sometime?" Luke asked, fidgeting with his fingers. 

Spencer's face blushed in the low light, nodding quickly before curbing his enthusiasm, biting his lip to refrain from smiling too wide. "Yes! Um, yeah, yeah, that sounds good."

Luke laughed a bit, taking Spencer's phone to enter his number. "If you get bored at your badass FBI job, text me. Or, if you don't get bored, still text me." He moved to leave the car when Spencer stopped him. 

"Wait! Uh, do you... do you remember when we left the library?"

"Well, that was not even ten minutes ago, so yes."

"No! When we left, there were some Christmas decorations..." He trailed off, like he wasn't sure if he should keep talking. 

"And...?" Luke prompted. 

"And there was some mistletoe." Spencer tutted his tongue, trying to gain confidence by acting nonchalant. "You know, it's considered bad luck to pass under mistletoe without kissing."

"Should've told me while we were there!" Luke grinned, moving in closer. "Bad luck is the silent killer."

"Should we remedy that?" Spencer asked, already leaning in.

Luke nodded quickly and closed the gap between them, gently kissing the handsome man. He felt like a teenager, kissing someone he barely knew in the car before he snuck upstairs to his room. Granted, now he wouldn't be sneaking past his parents, but rather his dog. 

They pulled back at the same time, both taking a moment before opening their eyes, smiling softly and holding eye contact. When Spencer smiled his tongue peeked out from behind his teeth, and Luke pressed his lips together, trying not to grin. 

He opened the car door, adjusting his pin to sit straight and grabbing the short story. "You better text me tomorrow," He said. "I've got a 33% chance of finding you at one of your jobs if you don't." He warned, and both men grinned. 

Spencer watched the man walk into his home, turning back once before he disappeared behind the door, bopping his head back and forth to make the faux antlers sway. Spencer smiled the whole way home, thinking about Christmas stories and cute men coming to the library.


	23. Snowy Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We were playing in the snow you suddenly tackled me to the ground and now... we're just... staring... at each other."

Cold weather was possibly the worst part of living in Virginia. I didn't often miss Vegas, typically missing the person I left behind rather than the actual town, but if there was one time I wanted nothing more than to be back in the desert, it was when snow began falling. I could daydream for hours about fifty degree weather in order to put off putting on my coat and going grocery shopping when it was cold. It felt wrong to be in literal freezing weather, and every year, without fail, Virginia dipped past the line of freezing, going below thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit. 

"I just don't understand the appeal!" I cried. "Snow is cold, wet, _dirty_!" 

The team laughed while I argued against their festive wishes for the season. Tara muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, 'So is your mom,' but none of us dignified it with a response.

"That's because you're a Western boy, Spence," JJ chided, giving my hair a tousle and smiling when I glared. "We all grew up with snow on Christmas, it's a staple for festivities."

"Christmas is celebrated among many climates, plenty of which do not have any snow. And if we get anymore before Christmas I'll consider permanently moving to one of those climates!"

They laughed at me, saying one thing or another about my distaste for the cold, before going back to their desks, finishing the paperwork that was stacked on everyone's desks before we could leave for our two days off, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

I worked silently and quickly, trying to finish my paperwork so I could leave before any more snow fell. I glanced out the window and saw it was already coming down quickly, and I knew I'd have to dig my car out of the snow. I knew I should've taken the metro. I worked quicker, finally reaching my last file when Luke walked past my desk, dropping a slip of paper on my desk before he sat down, two desks away from mine. I turned in my chair, giving him a suspicious look. He motioned for me to read it, and I did so. 

_Meet_ _me outside when you finish your files!_

There was something scribbled out in between 'meet' and 'me,' and I got flashbacks to high school, not something that was pleasant. When I looked back up to Luke he was walking away from his desk, coat and hat over his arm, heading to the door. He glanced back, but quickly turned forwards again when he saw I was already watching. He wasn't quite quick enough, though, and I caught a small smile on his face that should've heightened my worries, but somehow alleviated them. 

I rushed through my last file, it was far from my best work, and tossed it on the pile with my finished ones. I'd put them in Emily's office before I clocked-out. When I looked up to her office I noticed the lights were off anyway, she was probably rushing to get home and extend her short bit of time off. It seemed like the whole team had followed her lead, I was the only one still in the bullpen. Looking around I saw they had unfinished files set up on their desks, but all of their jackets were gone. The worry was starting to set into my stomach once again and I swallowed hard, slowly walking outside. 

The snow, as horridly cold as it was, was a pleasing sight. It would've been more pleasing if I was seeing it through a television screen though, in the warmth of my home, and not falling onto my hair, melting cold water dripping into my curls. It was dark but the brightness of the snow, matched with the lights coming from inside Quantico, made it easy to see around me. I looked around, trying to find Luke, but to no avail. I rummaged through my pockets, trying to find my phone, when I heard someone calling my name. 

I looked up, facing the left where I heard my name being called, and saw Luke, bundled up in his coat with a travel mug in one hand. 

"A hot coffee for the genius," He smiled, handing me the cup. I drank it and felt my chest heat up, grateful for any bit of warmth. 

"Thank you," I said in between sips. "Now would you like to tell me why you brought me out here, in the snow, half an hour after I expressed my distaste for the cold to the team?"

"Well," A new voice came up, exiting the building and walking up next to me. Emily put her arm around my shoulder. "We figured it might be good to get our Doctor to realize how fun snow can be," She smiled widely, and I frowned. I saw Penelope and JJ come up, bundled up in winter coats and mittens, hats and scarves. I felt underdressed, and cold, in my autumn coat and wool scarf. 

"Come on, you guys," I protested. "Aren't we a little too old to play in the snow?"

"You take that back!" Penelope said, jaw dropped in shock. "Never in my life did I think the day would come when I would be disappointed in you, Walter." She used my middle name, something she often did when she was mad at me or wanted me to be mad. 

"I'm already cold!" I said, pouting. "I'm not dressed for the snow."

Luke took off his hat, putting it over my ears. "Stop complaining and come with us." He said, very seriously despite his hat-hair. My stomach fluttered nervously at the gesture.

I didn't have much of a choice, part of the team walking in a tight line behind me, preventing my escape. I followed them out to a normally grassy area, now covered in a foot or so of freshly fallen snow. I tried not to smile at the sight, but didn't succeed. 

Tara and Matt were building a snowman in the snow, very tiny and deformed, placing Matt's hat and Tara's scarf around the snow sculpture. Rossi was crouched low to the ground, worryingly making a large supply of snow balls and he had a tiny snow barrier up, acting as a battle wall to protect himself. Penelope ran over to where he was, helping him building the wall taller. He thanked her, kissing her forehead in a fatherly way and she smiled, cheeks red from cold and happiness. JJ pulled a baby carrot out of her pocket, one she had likely stolen from the fridge, and pushed it into the front of Matt and Tara's snowman. 

Luke pulled me to a spot, about twenty meters diagonal from Rossi's war zone, to his own battleground. There were a series of snowballs scattered around the edges of his space, a wall similar to Rossi's in the process of being built. He grabbed my hand and pulled me down to where he was. 

"Your only hope of not getting pelted to death by Rossi and Garcia's snowballs is helping me build up this wall." He said, stoic as ever. I held back a laugh. 

"Or," I said. "I could go back inside and hand in my paperwork, then get to go home to my warm apartment."

"We both know you aren't doing that. Now come on, I'll give you my gloves if it makes you work faster."

I was already wearing his hat, and for some reason the idea of taking more of his clothing sent fluttering through my stomach. I shook my head and took a deep breath before plunging my bare hands into the cold snow, packing it against the base of his wall, building on structure and dependability while he worked on height. 

My hands were red and numb within minutes and I knew how idiotic it was to be doing this, especially after I was already going numb, but for some reason I couldn't find it in me to care. I heard the team laughing around me, everyone doing different thing but still together. 

"Tell me now, have you ever been in a snowball battle?" Luke said seriously, and I didn't notice him taking off his gloves and putting them on my hands until he was already done. 

"I grew up in Vegas, Luke. Obviously not!"

He acted like he'd been wounded, falling back to the cold ground at my words and I cringed at the idea of willingly doing that. "Well, you better be glad your first time is with me!" He said, then blushed furiously. I pressed my lips together to curb my laughter, and he continued. "Um, I meant-I..." He sighed, and I had never seen the man this flustered, and on our first day of meeting each other we went to a sex shop together. "Just try not to get hit in the face." He settled for. 

"Ten more minutes!" Emily yelled, reminding me of an elementary school teacher. None of us were clocked out, we were technically getting paid to play in the snow like children. 

Penelope started a count down from sixty, announcing the impending snowball fight. Luke and I rushed into finishing our wall and making more snowballs, going quick as we could with Pen's loud counting. 

_Ten!_

Luke scooped up all the snowballs and put them in front of us, unevenly distributing them so he had about 2/3 of them and I was left with the remaining. 

_Five!_

He tried to tell me a game plan but it was drowned out by both of our laughing, unable to remain stoic at the childish play. I looked over and saw Rossi trying to regale his plan to Penelope, to no avail. She was busy counting, but I did see she was hoarding snowballs in her arms, getting ready to attack. 

_One, zero. Attack!_

A rain of snowballs came to us, hitting our wall but thanks to my structural integrity it didn't budge, only flattening onto the side and making the wall stronger. Luke threw snowballs at the top of their wall where it was weakest, breaking away at it. After a few sorely missed throws on my part, apparently shooting a gun and throwing a snowball had very different types of accuracy, I gave Luke my snowballs and set to make more for him to use. I chugged the last bit of my coffee, relishing in the warmth it brought, before plunging back to the cold. Luke's hat and gloves _did_ help though, and I didn't want to give them back. 

I looked up from my snowball making and saw Penelope and Rossi abandoning their lair, encroaching in on our space. 

"Run!" Luke yelled, pulling me up and taking my wrist, running along the snowy area and throwing snowballs behind him, occasionally hitting the pair. A few particularly cold snowballs hit my back, one hitting my neck and making cold ice fall down my shirt, causing me to shriek. 

We tried to hide behind Tara, Matt, JJ, and Emily, to no avail. They ran away from us, trying to avoid the onslaught of cold, and succeeding unlike Luke and I. I laughed loudly despite the discomforting cold and it slowed down my running. Luke tugged on my arm, forcing me to go quicker until we reached out fort, and he tried to pull me down behind the wall with him, but was too enthusiastic. 

He pulled on my wrist as I was already trying to sit, bringing both of us crashing down to the cold ground. I landed on top of Luke with a heavy thud and we both laughed ridiculously, not noticing the lack of attack from Rossi and Penelope. Neither of us made motion to move, and I swallowed hard. We both breathed heavily, out of breath from the running around and fighting, and I could feel our chests touch with every inhale. His cheeks were tinged red, entirely from the cold I was sure, and I felt my stomach flip. 

"Are you okay?" He said, breaking the silence. His eyes darted along my face, flipping between my eyes and lips. Even in the dark I saw his pupils dilated and I was confused. He should be used to the light by now, his pupils shouldn't be dilating. 

"What? Oh! Oh, yeah, I'm great." I said, making no effort to move off of him. He didn't seem to mind, oddly, I felt his hands curl in on the small of my back, holding me securely where I was. 

"Good," He smiled. "That's uh, that's good, you're good," he frowned. "I don't know what that means, I don't know why I said that." He giggled, and so did I. 

I tried to keep my gaze on his eyes, but my eyes flickered down to his lips quickly, and when I looked back up I saw he was doing the same thing. 

"Can I-"

"Yes!" I said, stupidly only just putting together his behavior from tonight and what it meant, and he grinned, pushing his head up to close the gap between us. 

His lips were freezing, and I was sure mine were too. Our noses brushed up against each other and I fought to keep mine from scrunching at even more cold, but didn't succeed. He smiled into the kiss, tightening his hand on my back, and I snaked my hands into his hair, glad I had given him back his mittens earlier. 

Despite the human need for oxygen, I was sure we could've stayed like that for the rest of the night. We were only disturbed when Penelope threw a bucket of snow over us, moving too quick to stop herself when she realized the scene she had stumbled upon. I shrieked at the cold snow melting onto my neck, pulling back and shaking out my head like a dog, incidentally throwing snow onto Luke's face. 

"Oh ho ho," Penelope laughed, running back off to Rossi. "That wasn't what I was expecting!"

"I'm sorry!" I said, leaning on one arm and using the other to clear snow off of his face, not making an effort to actually get off of him. His ears were pink and I was sure we should have gone back inside at least ten minutes ago. 

He laughed underneath me, licking his lips quickly. "Don't be," He said, scarcely noticing the snow melting on his face. 

I was only focused on the man underneath me, the way he didn't take his eyes off of my lips, like he was waiting for the next opportunity to touch them. I heard laughter away from us, then Tara and Penelope's voices singing something about me and Luke, sitting in a tree.

"Luke?" I asked, placing the quickest kiss on his lips again. When I pulled back he was smiling wide, biting his lower lip trying to stop the cheek-splitting grin. 

"Yes, Spencer?"

"I think I might like snow a little bit more, now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry this was late! i've been so busy lately and had a rough few days so i've been trying so hard to get chapters written and published but it doesn't always happen :( but! only two more one shots left! then i'll probably post more in my oneshot/drabble book and i've been thinking about making a story that centers on reid(possibly a single dad one? ralvez may ensue but it's probably be slow burn)!  
> anyhoo i hope you guys are having a good holiday season thus far and have/had a happy holidays!


	24. A Bit to the Left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke insists Spencer can't hang decorations straight, and it takes Spencer entirely too long to realize what's happening.

"You have to go up there because you're taller!" I argued, pointing to the ladder next to our nearly finished Christmas tree. "You have more reach than I do!"

"Luke, I'm not even two inches taller than you." Spencer said, eyebrows furrowed. He grumbled a bit but climbed the ladder nonetheless, only after making sure I was holding it steady.

I handed him the tree topper and took a step back, trying to admire the tree but finding something else to stare at instead.

"Okay... How does this look?" Spencer asked, twisting the topper around until it was facing forwards. It was perfect, but I was enjoying the view. 

"Hmm," I pretended to hem and haw. "Turn it to the left a little."

He did as I said, shifting his whole body over until his back was solidly in front of me. He didn't have a shirt on and he wore a pair of red pajama bottoms that were just the slightest bit too tight. When he reached his arm out to turn the star, his shoulder blades shifted and I could see the subtle muscles on his back flex. I chewed on my lower lip and watched the way his body contorted and flexed. 

"How about this?" He asked, turning back with a smile on his face. 

"Turn it back a little again." I resumed shamelessly staring at him, enjoying the view. I tried to think of ways I could get him to do this everyday. He looked back to me, eyebrows raised in question.

"Good!" I said, even though it was a bit too far now. "Stay up there, I'll hand you some decorations to put on the mantle." 

I handed him mistletoe, lights, and tiny figurines from my mother to put up above the fireplace. He hung the mistletoe on a hook that protruded from the ceiling, meant to put up hanging plants. He had to stretch a bit to reach the hook and I held onto his waist, cold fingers against his warm skin making him squirm. Spencer laughed when he jumped off the last step, slipping into my arms and kissing me. I tried to deepen our kiss and he pushed me away. 

"You said you wanted me to keep decorating! I just came down to move the ladder so I don't fall. Unless you want to take over?"

"Don't let me stop you from getting back up there, I'm enjoying the view." I said, and he looked up to the tree topper. 

"Were you even looking when I put that up there? It's uneven!"

"I was looking!" I insisted. "I just wasn't looking at the tree. What's under the tree is always more interesting." I wiggled my eyebrows and he laughed, swatting at my shoulder. 

"First of all I wasn't under the tree, I was next to it. Second of all now I need to go back up there and fix it!"

I grinned, there was no complaint on my part. And when he did get back up there he wasn't subtle in stretching more than he was prior, spending more time than necessary up on the ladder, adjusting the star, gripping the ladder tighter that he needed to. He climbed down slowly, moving the ladder over in front of the mantle and swaying his hips when he climbed back up, neither of us able to hide our laughter. 

He slowly put up all the decorations, reaching across the mantle to evenly distribute the figurines after he hung up the lights, multicolored strings shining on his bare chest. I reached over and held him steady when he stretched, putting up the last figurine. I rested my head on the side of his thigh, awkwardly standing around the ladder. 

"Do they look even?" He asked, putting his hand in my hair. "Don't lie this time."

I scoffed. "I would never!" He gave me a look and I relented, pulling away so he could get off the ladder. "They look good, amorcito," I said and he smiled, two steps from the bottom. 

I swooped in and grabbed him at the waist, putting him over my shoulder and he shrieked in surprise, trying to wriggle out of my gasp. I swatted at his bottom, effectively stopping his squirming. 

I threw a blanket on the ground under the mistletoe, near the tree, and set him down on top of it, lowering myself as well. I kissed him and he reciprocated, pushing his chest up into mine. I scurried to take off my shirt and he laughed against my lips and I did the same, continuing until the kiss was less lips and more giggles. He pulled away suddenly and looking into my eyes, very stoic. 

"Luke?"

"What's wrong?"

"Tell me honestly, is it even?" He said, obviously biting his cheeks to keep from smiling. "Is it... straight?"

I burst into laughter, pressing kisses over every bit of available skin I could reach. "Not even a little bit, but it's okay. I love it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was very short, and honestly far from my best work lol, sorry about that :( but merry christmas eve! one more chapter to go!


	25. Christmas Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer and Luke had a miscommunication with the team about hosting the Christmas party for the team.

When Spencer woke to an empty bed, sheets cold indicating they had been vacated quite some time ago, he frowned. His hand patted around the empty half of the bed, like he might be able to make Luke appear out of no where if he did it long enough. Of course, it didn't work, and he turned over in bed, sun shining through the window at an angle that indicated it was nearing eleven o'clock. 

"Luke?" He yelled, voice low and raw from sleep. Footsteps paced quickly through the apartment, the bedroom door cracking open, Luke peeking his head in before walking fully in. Spencer reached out for him and Luke obliged, sitting on the bed next to where Spencer laid. "What time is it?"

"10:50, I thought about waking you, but you had a hard time sleeping last night." Luke explained and Spencer nodded, still waking up, before grinning. 

"Merry Christmas," He said, and Luke smiled too. 

"Merry Christmas, Spencer," He said, kissing the top of Spencer's head. "Now that you're awake... Let's go open presents!"

Spencer laughed when Luke dragged him out of bed, rushing to the tree. Gift-giving was a whirlwind of wrapping paper, cheek-splitting grins, and loud laughter. 

"Hey," Luke said when they retired onto the couch, Spencer wearing a new sweater he had been gifted and Luke wearing a baseball cap Spencer had gotten him. "Guess what?"

Spencer pursed his lips, trying to think of what Luke would say. He already gave thanks and was thanked for presents, they both had full cups of coffee and bellies full of sweets. He was about to shrug, say he didn't know, when Luke leaned over and kissed Spencer, softly, gently. 

"I love you." He said when he partially pulled away, still breathing each other's air, lips nearly touching when he spoke. "So. Much." He kissed him again, quickly in between words. 

"I love you," Spencer tried and failed to prevent a yawn, somehow still tired after eight hours of sleep and five cups of coffee. Luke laughed lightly, laying back on the couch and pulling Spencer on top of him. He mindlessly rubbed circles into Spencer's back with one hand, trailing the other through his messy curls. Luke thought Spencer would fall asleep for just a short while, he was a fan of power naps throughout the day, but he didn't anticipate the both of them falling asleep on the couch, slipping into happy dreams through the sounds of each other's breathing.

* * *

They slept for five and a half hours, a particularly long nap for them to take unprompted. They only roused when their phones began to ring at the same time, startling them awake. They made eye contact and frowned, the only time that happened was when there was a case. 

Luke reached for his phone, but was too late, sending the caller to voicemail. Spencer answered his just in time, not checking to see who was calling. 

"Doctor Reid, here." He said, voice gravely from lack of use. Luke grinned and started pressing kisses to the younger man's cheeks and neck, making him smile and bite his lip. "JJ?" He suddenly said, pushing Luke off. "Okay, wait, let me put you on speaker."

He pulled the phone away from his ear, messing with the buttons until JJ's voice came into their house. 

"So, Will and I just wanted to double-check and see if you needed anything for tonight? My mom is here and she'll be watching the boys, so we'll probably be over around 7:30, if that's still good?"

"JJ, what're you talking about?"

There was a moment of silence before she spoke up again. "The Christmas party?" She asked, confusion as apparent in her voice as it was in Spencer's. "You and Luke said you'd host the Christmas party this year, with Rossi being out of state with Joy?"

"Yeah," Spencer confirmed. "On the 26th. Right Luke?"

Luke's mouth made an 'o' and he seemed to make a realization. 

"No," JJ said. " _On_ _Christmas_. We all decided it would be _on_ Christmas this year."

"You know what," Luke said, looking guilty. "Now that I think about it, you're right. I _may_ have gotten the dates mixed up." Luke had been the one to discuss the Christmas party with their peers, Spencer on sabbatical to teach. 

"Are you guys going to be ready? All you need to do is have alcohol and appetizers. Everyone else is bringing enough food that we should be good. Do you need help preparing anything? I can't get there any earlier, but I'm sure Pen or Emily could if you needed help."

Spencer cursed and shook his head. "No, no, we'll be fine. We went shopping a few days ago for the party, we just need to set up. Right, Luke?" He demanded, looking panicked. Spencer never let his coworkers come over before they moved into a home together. His old apartment was crowded, dark, dusty, too many books and not enough food. They had only been to Spencer and Luke's house a handful of times, and only after Spencer spent the week cleaning and preparing every room. Even if there was no reason why someone would go into their bedroom, it had to be spotless as the rest of the house. 

Luke said goodbye to JJ, hanging up the phone and putting it down. "Hey, we got this!" Luke said, holding Spencer's face in his hands. "Let's clean up wrapping paper and the kitchen and everything, get the teams present's out of the closet and put them up, take quick showers, and then we can set up food and get the oven going, and at that point they'll probably be en route."

Spencer nodded, but looked like he might vomit. He could be held up at gunpoint and stare at horrific crime scenes, but couldn't handle his team coming over on short notice. Luke shook his shoulders softly and Spencer shot off like a rocket, crumpling wrapping paper and grabbing dirty dishes, running around the apartment before Luke could even move. He could run full speed to clean but couldn't go on a single morning run with his boyfriend? Figures. 

When an hour had passed, the house looking damned clean if they do say so themselves, they took a quick shower together- _No funny business, Alvez_ -and went to get the most important part of BAU parties, alcohol. 

Three bottles of red, three bottles of white, a decanter of whiskey, a bottle of vodka, and one of tequila, the team better not say they never did anything for them. They set up the booze on the table, the presents under the tree, and lights in the doorway were flashing every few seconds. 

The moment, the literal second that they sat on the couch, ready to take a breather before their team arrive, there was a loud knock on the door and, without waiting for a response, Penelope, Morgan, and Savannah all came rushing through the door, smiles on their faces, presents and food in their hands. 

"Merry Christmas!" Penelope crowed, forcing big hugs on both men, even if she did give Luke a subtle glare. 

"Hey, man," Morgan said, giving Spencer a bear hug. "Long time no see, how you been?"

Spencer held on a bit too long, grinning at the friend he hadn't seen in so long. Six months and 17 days, to be specific. 

They shared pleasantries, more members of the team coming until JJ and Will finally arrived, 7:30 on the dot. 

"Oh, hey!" She said, looking around. "Wouldn't even be able to tell you only had two hours to prepare. Your house looks amazing, guys." She smiled warmly, giving hugs to everyone and putting presents under the tree where everyone else had them. 

"Two hours?" Matt asked, Kristy under his arm. 

"You guys knew about this for weeks," Tara said. "Or did that big brain of yours forget, Reid?"

"I cannot forget," Spencer defended. "But, Luke _can_ get dates mixed up and tell me that the party is tomorrow."

Luke grinned sheepishly, "I would like to put the blame on Penelope," He said. 

"What? Why me!"

"Oh, no reason, it just felt like something you would do to me."

"Newbie," She glared, downing her glass of white and pouring more. 

Problems arose from not knowing they were hosting that night, like forgetting that the team could _drink_ , and they ran out of booze before ten. Though, that was probably a good thing. It wasn't good, though, when they didn't have enough seats and everyone was piled on each other. Presents went as well as could be expected, shouts of offense and laughter at gag gifts, a few tears shed at some personal presents, only induced due to the amount of alcohol everyone had consumed. Food went quickly and Luke went to the kitchen, seeing if they had sweets or tapas they could serve to everyone, coming back with the oddest assortment of popcorn, Christmas cookies, cheese and summer sausage, and pickles?

Not that the team complained, they were drunk and hungry, any food was good food. 

The night started to slow down around midnight, JJ and Will announcing their departure to relieve her mother of babysitting duties, and left with hugs, kisses, and thanks for the hosting and presents. Morgan and Savannah followed suit, then Matt and Kristi. That left the child-less members of the team, Tara, Penelope, and Emily, all of which were considerably drunk. 

They were loud, telling old anecdotes from work or otherwise, Emily sneaking off to find more alcohol in the house, which she did in the form of cheap tequila they bought months ago when there was nothing else available at the store. They had barely dipped into it. But, Emily was already drunk, and she didn't particularly care about the quality of the booze. 

"Shots, anyone?" She slurred a bit, brandishing the bottle of tequila in one hand and shot glasses in the other. 

"Ooh, Emily, I love you," Penelope said very seriously, going over and giving the woman a kiss on the cheek. "Like, I am so in love with you... you're my favorite person sometimes."

Emily grinned, pouring shots for the two of them while Tara watched, not taking another shot just yet. 

"Hey, guys," Spencer tried, nearly falling asleep on the couch. "Maybe we should cool it with the alcohol? It's getting kind of late, and-"

"Don't be a buzzkill," Penelope frowned, trying to give him a shot, which he gracefully denied. 

He looked to Luke with a look that the others couldn't read, not while so drunk, and Luke laughed a bit. 

"Alright, it's past one, so how about this? I call you guys an Uber, send it to one of your houses, and you guys can keep the party going there? You can retrieve your cars in the morning and hopefully won't be to hungover."

"No can do," Tara spoke up suddenly, looking very solemn and drunk at the same time. "Uber's are impossible to get on Christmas so late. We're here, baby!"

"Oh, fuck," Spencer whispered. 

Luke thought quickly, just wanting to sleep. "Okay, well, we have a guest bedroom, you guys know where it is, and you can probably all fit in that bed, or one of you can sleep on the couch. Try not to finish that bottle of tequila, don't wreck our house, and don't wake us up unless there's a fire or other imminent danger. Sound good? Great!" He didn't wait for them to answer, grabbing Spencer by the arm and running off to their room, the girls hooting at them entirely misunderstanding the situation. Even if they had the energy for sex, it wasn't really on their bucket list to sleep together while their teammates were two rooms over, with impeccable hearing and thin walls. 

He kicked the door shut behind them, grateful for the lock that was on the handle, and quickly disrobed, climbing under the covers with Spencer. It was silent for a while, and Luke thought Spencer had fallen asleep. 

"Hey, Luke?" Spencer said, startling the other man. 

"Yeah, amorcito?"

"Let's never host. Ever. Again."

"Agreed. Merry Christmas," He kissed Spencer softly, drifting off to sleep while the girls giggled in the living room, probably finished the bottle he told them not to. 

"Merry Christmas, Luke."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow! 25 days of ralvez all done :,)  
> (let's ignore the fact that this one is not great and also a day late)  
> i hope you all had a good december and have a good new year!


End file.
